THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


FUGITIVE  PIECES, 


BY  VARIOUS  HANDS. 


1867. 


MORRISANIA,  N.  V.: 
1867. 


FIFTEEN    COPIES    PRINTED,    NUMBERED 
AND    SIGNED. 

No. 


BRADSTREET    PRESS. 


TO 

S.  WHITNEY  PHCENIX,  ESQ., 

OF  NEW  YORK  CITY. 

As  a  slight  testimonial  of  personal  esteem,  this  volume 
is  respectfully  inscribed  by 

THE  EDITOR. 
MORRISANIA,  N.  Y.,  1868. 


•  447952 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 

THE  following  papers,  originally  published  in  THE 
HISTORICAL  MAGAZINE,  under  my  editorial  supervision, 
are  brought  together  in  this  volume  for  more  convenient 
use  by  students  of  American  History. 

HENRY  B.  DAWSON. 
MORRISANIA,  N.  Y.,  1868. 


CONTENTS. 


I.  MR.  WHEELWRIGHT'S  FAST-DAY  SERMON,  PREACHED 
AT  BOSTON,  JANUARY  16,  1636-7. 

II.  SIR  NATHANIEL  RICH.     By  John     Ward  Dean, 
Esq.,  of  Boston. 

III.  JOURNAL  OF  LIEUTENANT  THOMAS  ANDERSON  OF 
THE  DELAWARE  REGIMENT,  1780—1782. 

IV.  THE  FCF.DERALIST,  No.  Ixiii.      The  original  draft, 
by  Mr.  Jay. 

V.  SUGGESTIONS  FOR  A  CONSTITUTION  FOR  THE  STATE 
OF  NEW  YORK.      By  Egbert  Benson  and  Rufus  King. 

VI.  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF   AMERICA.      By  Seu-ki- 
Yu,  Governor  of  Fuh-Kien. 

VII.  THE    ORIGIN    OF  M'FINGAL.      By    Hon.     J. 
Hammond  Trumbull,  of  Hartford,  Connecticut. 

VIII.  A  SCRAP  FROM  MASSACHUSETTS  HISTORY.      By 
George  Henry  Moore,  Esq.,  of  Neiu  York. 

IX.  GOUVERNEUR  MORRIS.     A  fragment.    By  the   late 
John  W.  Francis,  LL.D. 

X.  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  EXPEDITION  AGAINST  THE  FIVE 
NATIONS,  COMMANDED  BY  GENERAL  SULLIVAN,  IN   1778. 
By  Nathan    Da-vis,  of  Colonel  Cil/ey's  Regiment. 

XI.  THE  SPEECH  OF  MR.  JOHN   CHECKLEY,  UPON  HIS 

TRYAL,  AT  BOSTON,  IN    NEW  ENGLAND,  NOVEMBER,   1724. 

With  Introduction  by  Rev.  E.  H.  Gillett,  D.D. 


I. 

A  SERMON 

PREACHED    AT 

BOSTON  IN  NEW  ENGLAND, 

VPON  A  FAST  DAY  THE  XVJrn  OF 
JANUARY,  1636-7. 

BY  REV.  JOHN  WHEELEWRIGHT. 

From  Manuscripts  in  the  Library  of  The  Massachusetts 
Historical    Society. 


PREACHED    AT 


BOSTON  IN  NEW  ENGLAND 

VPON  A  FAST  DAY 

THE    XVJTH    OF    JANUARY.      1636. 
BT  MR.  JOHN  WHEELEWRIGHT, 


From  Manuscripts  in  the  possession  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical 

Society,  first  published  in  THE  HISTORICAL  MAGAZINE,  for 

April,  1867. 


MORRISANIA,    N.    Y.: 
1867. 


BKADSTRXKT    PRKI8. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


The  following  very  important  Sermon,  which,  after 
remaining  unpublished  for  two  hundred  and  thirty  years, 
was  first  introduced  to  the  reading  public  outside  of 
Boston,  in  the  HISTORICAL  MAGAZINE  for  April,  1867, 
has  been  printed  in  this  form  for  the  more  convenient 
use  of  a  few  scholars  and  students  who  are,  also,  friendt 

of  the  Editor. 

HXNRY  B.  DAWSON. 

MORRISANIA,  April  ii,  1867. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 

There  is  no  more  interesting  series  of  events  in  the  history  of 
New  England,  than  that  which  is  known  to  us  as  "  The  Anti- 
"  nomian  Controversy  "  of  1634-40. 

The  Puritan  fathers  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay  were 
not  wholly  united  in  their  admiration  of  Governor  John  Win- 
throp, and  those  with  whom,  both  in  Church  and  State,  he  acted 
in  concert ;  and  this  they  did  not  fail  to  make  manifest  on  more 
than  one  occasion.  Thus,  in  1632,  less  than  two  years  after  the 
transfer  of  the  Corporation  to  America,  Thomas  Dudley,  impa- 
tient of  undue  control  and  disliking  some  of  Governor  Win- 
throp's  measures,  openly  resented  them  by  attempting  to  with- 
draw from  the  Government.  Two  years  later,  the  Governor 
was  superseded  by  Mr.  Dudley,  and  called  to  account  "for 
"such  commodities  as  he  hath  received  of  the  common  stock" 
to  a  Committee  of  the  General  Court,  evidently  in  a  hostile 
spirit.  Mr.  Haynes  succeeded  Mr.  Dudley,  in  1635 ;  and  in 
1636,  Henry  Vane,  Esqr.,  was  elected  to  that  office,  with  Mr. 
Winthrop  as  his  Deputy.  In  1637,  desperate  at  this  persistent 
rejection  of  Mr.  Winthrop  and  this  continued  rebuke  of  the 
spirit  which  controlled  him  and  his  adherents,  in  violation  also 
of  law  and  of  the  chartered  rights  of  the  majority  of  the  Free- 
men of  the  Corporation,  the  most  unwarrantable  measures  were 
taken  to  secure  the  restoration  to  authority  of  the  ancient  re- 
gime ;  and,  amidst  the  most  intense  excitement,  the  effort  was 
successful. 

It  is  evident  that  in  these  long-continued  discontents  and  fre- 
quent contests  for  authority,  the  struggle  to  retain  or  regain 
the  power  which  "  the  major  will"  was  unwilling  to  repose  in 
'  Mr.  Winthrop  and  his  friends  and  supporters,  the  town  of  Bos- 
ton was  almost  unanimously  opposed  to  that  party  ;  and  that  it 
relied  chiefly  for  its  support  on  the  country  towns  and  on  the 
clergy  ;  although,  in  the  country,  also,  were  many  who  con- 
demned the  clergy  as  preachers  of  false  doctrines,  and  the  Gov- 
ernor as  a  supporter  of  an  erroneous  polity. 

While  these  discontents  were  gathering  their  strength,  in 
September,  1634,  there  arrived  at  Boston,  one  William  Hutch- 
inson  and  his  wife  and  family  ;  and,  a  little  more  than  a  year 
later,  Rev.  John  Wheelwright,  a  relative  of  his,  also  settled  In 
the  same  place,  whence,  soon  after,  the  latter  removed  to  Mount 
Wollaston,  now  Braintree. 

The  religious  meetings  for  women,  which  were  instituted  in 
Boston,  by  Mrs.  Anne  Hutchinson,  and  the  excitement  which 
was  produced  thereby,  are  known  to  our  readers ;  and 
they  need  not  be  told  of  either  the  general  denuncia- 
tion of  the  clergy,  as  preachers  of  false  doctrines,  in 
which  Mrs.  Hutchinson  and  her  friends  indulged,  nor  of  the 


hearty  support  which  that  remarkable  woman  enjoyed,  not 
only  from  the  townsmen,  in  Boston,  but  from  many  of  the  lead- 
ing inhabitants  of  the  country  towns.  As  a  necessary  conse- 
quence of  this  religious  warfare  against  the  clergy,  by  those 
who  also  mainly  opposed,  politically,  the  great  civil  supporter 
of  the  clergy,  Mr.  Winthrop,  it  was  not  long  before  the  theolog- 
ical dispute  became  an  important  element  in  the  political  con- 
tests of  the  day  ;  and  the  friends  and  adherents  of  Winthrop 
were  called  upon  to  battle  at  the  same  time  against  the  mere 
opponents  of  the  clergy,  headed  by  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  and  the 
opponents  of  Mr.  Winthrop,  per  se,  headed,  it  is  probable,  by 
Henry  Vane,  William  Coddington,  John  Coggeshall,  Captain 
John  Underbill,  and  Richard  Dummer,  both  of  which  parties 
they  appear  to  have  considered  equally  antagonistic  to  their 
party  and  to  their  desire  for  office. 

In  the  midst  of  this  excitement,  while  Mr.  Vane  was  Gover- 
nor of  the  Colony,  a  fast  was  ordered  on  account  of  the  pre- 
vail ing  dissensions  and  the  existing  troubles  with  the  Indians; 
and,  among  others,  a  sermon  was  preached  by  Mr.  Wheelwright, 
who  was  one  of  the  principal  theological  opponents  of  the 
clergy,  and,  indirectly,  an  opponent  also  of  Mr.  Winthrop  and 
his  political  adherents. 

For  preaching  this  Sermon,,  Mr.  Wheelwright  was  summoned 
before  the  General  Court,  when  a  remonstrance  was  presented 
from  nearly  all  the  members  of  the  Church  at  Boston,  claiming 
as  Freemen  their  right  to  be  present  in  cases  of  judicature,  and 
denying  the  right  of  the  Court  to  act  in  cases  of  conscience  be- 
fore the  Church  itself  had  acted  on  the  subject. 

Mr.  Wheelwright  duly  appeared  before  the  Court,  produced 
his  Sermon,  and  justified  it,  boldly  declaring  that  his  applica- 
tion of  the  principles  maintained  therein  was  "  to  all  that  walk 
"in  that  way."  The  Court  then  called  on  the  Elders  of  the 
Churches  to  declare  if,  in  their  ministry,  "  they  walked  in  such 
"a  way  "  as  Mr.  Wheelwright  had  described,  which  they  ac- 
knowledged ;  whereupon  the  Court  adjudged  the  preacher 
"  was  guilty  of  contempt  and  sedition." 

A  portion  of  the  Court,  headed  by  Governor  Vane,  dissented 
from  this  judgment  and  presented  a  Protest  and  a  second  Re- 
monstrance from  the  Church  at  Boston,  the  latter  justifying  the 
preacher ;  denying  the  alleged  sedition  ;  suggesting  that  the 
opposition  to  the  sermon  might  be  only  a  method  of  the  old  ser- 
pent, "the  ancient  enemy  of  Free  Grace,"  to  spread  mischief; 
and  advising  the  Court  to  consider  the  danger  of  meddling  with 
the  prophets  of  the  Most  High.  This  Remonstrance  was  very 
decided  in  its  tone  and  was  signed  by  men  of  the  first  conse- 
quence in  the  Colony  ;  and,  very  wisely,  nothing  further  was 
done  at  that  time,  in  the  premises. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Court,  in  May,  1637,  the  most  disrepu- 
table means  were  employed  by  the  friends  of  Mr.  Winthrop  to 
regain  the  ascendency  in  the  Government ;  and  their  success 
was  followed  by  the  banishment  of  Mr.  Wheelwright  and  the 
disfranchisement  of  his  leading  friends,  and,  subsequently  by 
the  banishment  of  Mn.  Hutchinson  ;  the  disarming  of  the  lead- 


vii. 


ing  anti-Winthrop  inhabitants  of  Boston,  Salem,  Newbury, 
Roxbury,  Ipswich,  and  Charlestown  ;  and  by  other  acts  of  Puri- 
tanic persecution. 

Every  careful  reader  of  the  Sermon  who  is  also  an  impartial 
observer  of  men  and  manners  will  agree  with  us  that  Mr. 
Wheelwright's  remarks  were  not  more  applicable  to  the  pre- 
vailing vices  of  1637  than  they  are  to  those  of  1867  ;  and  it  is 
not  impossible  that  in  that  fact  we  may  find  at  once  the  motives 
of  the  Fathers  of  Massachusetts  in  banishing  its  author  from 
that  Colony,  and  those  of  their  Suns  in  withholding,  so  tena- 
ciously, and  for  so  long  a  period,  from  the  light  of  day  the  Ser- 
mon itself.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  author  was  banished,  in 
1637,  and  his  Sermon  has  been,  during  the  succeeding  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty  years,  and  until  now,  carefully  withheld  from 
the  scrutiny  of  all,  the  world  over,  except  the  favored  few  who 
have  lived  or  had  ''hospitable  friends"  in  Boston  or  its  imme- 
diate vicinity. 

The  Sermon  thus  preached  by  Mr.  Wheelwright,  the  great 
historical  importance  of  which  will  be  evident  to  our  readers, 
remained  in  manuscript,  unpublished  and  sedulously  guarded, 
until  last  August,  when  we  made  a  formal  application,  in 
writing,  to  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  in  whose  pos- 
session it  had  been  for  many  years,  for  a  copy  for  publication. 

As  a  member  of  that  venerable  Society  and  a  student  of  the 
history  of  the  subject  to  which  it  related,  we  supposed  that  our 
fellow-members,  many  of  whom  were  also  our  personal  friends, 
would  no  longer  interpose  an  objection  to  the  publication  of 
this  very  important  Sermon  ;  but  the  result  indicated  too  clearly 
that  we  were  mistaken — that  which  related  to  Massachusetts, 
they  maintained,  ought  only  to  be  published  originally,  if  pub- 
lished at  all,  in  Massachusetts  and  under  their  supervision. 

The  following,  from  the  unpublished  Proceedings  of  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  for  August,  1866,  is  the 
official  record  of  the  action  of  the  Society  on  our  application 
for  a  copy,  and  of  the  subsequent  process  through  which  it  was 
intended  we  should  obtain  a  copy  only  in  the  manner  and  at 
the  time  which  was  most  congenial  to  the  feelings  of  those  who 
had  so  long  withheld  it  from  the  public : 

"  An  application  from  Mr.  Henry  B.  Dawson,  of  Morrisania, 
"  N.  Y.,  for  leave  to  copy  and  print  the  Sermon  of  the  Rev. 
"John  Wheelwright,  among  the  Hutchinson  manuscripts  in 
"  the  archives  of  the  Society,  was  referred  to  the  Standing 
"  Committee,  with  full  power. 

"  [The  '  Standing  Committee,'  on  considering  this  appllca- 
"  tion,  decided  that  it  was  the  duty  of  this  Society  to  print  thii 
"  sermon,  and  all  the  other  unpublished  manuscripts  in  the 
"  Hutchinson  collection,  in  a  volume  or  volumes  of  their  own, 
"  as  soon  as  the  funds  of  the  Society  should  enable  them  to  do  so. 
"  With  a  view,  however,  to  gratify  the  wish  for  this  particular 
"  discourse,  it  was  referred  to  the  '  Publishing  Committee,'  and 
"  by  their  authority  is  here  printed.]" 

Having  received  no  official  reply  to  our  application,  and  the 
information  which  we  had  obtained,  informally,  indicating  a 


viii. 


determination  in  some  quarters  to  prevent  such  a  copy  from 
reaching  us  as  would  have  answered  our  purpose,  we  made  a 
personal  application  to  the  Society,  at  its  meeting  in  March, 
1867 ;  and,  contrary  to  the  Society's  usual  course,  in  such 
cases,  we  beliere,  the  HISTORICAL  MAGAZINE,  to-day,  is  allowed 
to  anticipate  the  regular  publication  by  the  Society,  in  its  own 
Proceedings,  of  a  paper  in  its  own  collections,  which  it  had 
officially  designated  as  a  part  of  its  own  forthcoming  volume. 

The  following  copy  of  the  Fast-day  sermon,  preached  by  Mr. 
Wheelwright,  in  January,  1636-7,  has  been  printed  from  cor- 
rected slips  furnished  to  us,  officially,  for  the  purpose  of  this 
publication,  by  the  Publishing  Committee'  of  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society,  under  the  authority  of  that  body,  and  in  ad- 
vance of  its  own  publication  of  the  same  in  a  future  volume  of 
its  Proceedings,  which  is  now  in  press. 

HENRY  B.  DAWSON. 
MOREIBANIA,  N.  Y.,  April  11,  1867. 


SERMON. 


MATH  :  the  9.  15. 

And  Jesus  said  vnto  them,  can  the  Children  of  the  bride- 
chamber  mourne  as  long  as  the  Bridegroome  is  wth  them,  but 
the  dayes  will  come,  when  the  Bridegroome  shall  be  taken  from 
them,  &  then  they  shall  fast. 

Our  blessed  Lord  &  Sauior  Jesus  Christ,  though 
he  was  the  most  innocent  that  euer  was,  so  that 
they  wcl1  hated  him,  hated  him  wthout  a  cause, 
yet  notwthstanding  the  wicked  world,  they  were 
euer  taking  exceptions,  both  against  his  sayings 
&  doings. 

In  the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  they  brought 
vnto  him  a  man  sicke  of  the  palsey,  lying  vpon 
a  bedd.  Jesus  seeing  their  faith,  said  vnto  him, 
sonne  be  of  good  cheare,  thy  synnes  be  forgiuen 
thee,  the  Scribes  say  wthin  themselues  that  he 
blasphemeth.  Christ  perceiuing  their  thoughts, 
answered  for  himselfe,  &  telleth  them,  he  cold  as 
easily  forgiue  synnes  as  restore  this  man  to 
health  ;  Christ  goeth  from  thence,  &  goeth  to  the 
receipt  of  custome  &  calleth  Mathew  the  Publi- 
can, &  he  receaueth  him  into  his  house  &  maketh 
a  feast.  "Christ  sitteth  downe  wth  Publicans  & 
synners  :  the  Pharisees  take  exceptions,  &  tell  his 
Disciples,  that  their  Master  eateth  wth  Publicans 
&  synners,  &  Christ  hearing  of  it,  answereth  for 
himselfe,  &  telleth  them,  they  were  fit  subiecta 
to  worke  vpon,  he  iustifieth  the  vngodly :  those 
"2 


that  are  iustified  by  Christ  must  not  looke  to  be 
saued  by  sacrifice,  but  by  the  mercy  of  Christ. 
A  little  after,  the  Disciples  of  John  were  insti- 
gated by  the  Scribes  &  Pharisees  Mar :  2. 18,  and 
they  put  this  question  vnto  him,  Why  they  &  the 
Pharisees  fast  often?  and  the  Disciples  of  Christ 
fast  not  ?  And  Christ  answered  in  my  text.  And 
thus  you  see  the  coherence  &  dependence  of  these 
words. 

The  text  consisteth  of  two  argum*9.  whereby 
Christ  did  prooue  &  shew,  that  it  was  not  for  his 
Disciples  to  fast.  The  first  is  taken  from  the 
remoouall  of  any  iust  cause  of  fasting  wch  they 
had  for  the  p'sent.  The  second  argum4.  is  taken 
from  a  position  or  putting  a  iust  cause  of  fast 
they  shold  haue  hereafter,  and  that  was  the  re- 
remooving  Christ  from  them. 

I  will  not  stand  to  shew  the  difference  of  fasts, 
wch  are  either  constrayned,  civill,  miraculous, 
dayly,  or  religious,  but  the  fast  here  spoken  of 
in  my  text,  is  of  the  last  sort,  and  mourning  is 
added  in  my  text,  because  fasting  &  mourning  go 
together,  Joel :  2  ;  and  where  it  is  here  said,  the 
children  of  the  bridechamber  cannot  fast,  it  is  to 
be  vnderstood  an  impossibility  of  seasonablenes, 
they  cannot  do  it  seasonably. 

The  text  contayneth  in  it  two  poynts,  but  I 
wrap  all  vp  in  one  poynt  of  Doctrine,  and  that  is 
this.  That  the  only  cause  of  the  fasting  of  true 
beleeuers  is  the  absence  of  Christ. 

Either  Christ  he  is  prsent  wth  his  people,  or 
els  absent  from  his  people ;  if  he  be  prsent  w01 
his  people,  then  they  haue  no  cause  to  fast : 
therefore  it  must  be  his  absence  that  is  the  true 
cause  of  fasting,  when  he  is  taken  away,  then 
they  must  fast.  If  we  take  a  view  of  all  the 
fasts,  that  haue  beene  kept,  either  in  the  old  or 
new  Testament,  we  shall  finde  the  fasts  that  haue 


beene  kept  by  true  beleeuers,  haue  had  this  for 
the  grounds  of  them,  the  absence  of  the  Lord. 
What  was  the  reason  why  the  people  of  Israeli 
kept  a  fast,  Judges  the  20.  &  1  Sam  :  7,  and  Je- 
hosephat  &  all  Juda  2  Cron  :  20,  and  the  people 
of  Israeli,  after  they  came  out  of  captivity,  Ne- 
hemiah  9.  And  the  church  of  Antioch,  Acts  13, 
and  Paul  &  Earnabas,  Acts  14 ;  was  it  not  be- 
cause they  wanted  the  Lord  to  protect,  defend, 
pardon,  &  assist  ?  Where  there  is  mencon  made 
of  fasting  in  the  Scripture,  you  shall  likewise 
find  mencon  made  of  turning  vnto  the  Lord,  and 
the  Prophett  Joel,  when  he  speaketh  of  a  fast, 
he  biddeth  them  turne  to  the  Lord  :  whereby  it 
is  evident,  that  the  reason  why  God's  people  do 
fast,  is  because  there  is  a  distance  betweene  them 
&  the  Lord. 

Reas  :  1.  The  first  reason  is,  when  Jesus  Christ 
is  aboundantly  prsent,  he  doth  make  a  supply  of 
whatsoeuer  the  children  of  God  can  pcure  in  this 
extraordinary  way  of  fasting :  Wee  know  that 
vnder  the  captivity  the  people  of  God  they  fasted 
exceedingly,  they  kept  a  fast  in  the  fourth 
moneth,  5.  7.  10,  and  now  the  Lord  pmiseth  a 
restauration  of  Jerusalem,  that  is  especially  ac- 
complished in  the  kingdome  of  Christ,  when  he 
shall  raigne  ouer  his,  and  he  saith,  in  this  day 
he  will  turne  the  fast  of  the  fourth  moneth,  5.  7. 
10,  into  ioyfull  gladnes  &  chearefull  feasts. 
Zach  :  8.  There  is  a  prophecy  of  a  glorious 
Church,  wch  the  Lord  will  haue  vnder  the  new 
testament,  &  especially  when  the  Jewes  come  to 
be  converted  vnto  God,  and  there  is  a  pmise  that 
the  Lord  will  dwell  wth  them,  &  they  shall  be 
his  people,  &  he  will  be  wth  them,  and  the  effect 
of  it  is,  all  teares  shall  be  wiped  from  their  eyes ; 
Reu  :  21,  4,  and  the  same  is  pphecied  in  Isay  65, 
19.  so  farr  as  Christ  is  psent  he  taketh  away  all 


cause  of  mourning  &  weeping,  and  in  his  psence 
is  fulnes  of  ioy,  and  at  his  right  hand  there  is 
pleasures  for  evermore.  Ps :  16,  11. 

Keas  :  2.  The  second  reason  is,  because  when 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  cometh  once  to  be  absent, 
then  cometh  in  matter  of  mourning  &  fasting, 
all  misery  followeth  the  absence  of  Christ ;  as 
you  see  darknes  followeth  the  absence  of  the 
sunne  :  the  Lord  leaueth  Hezekiah,  2  Kings.  20. 
12, 13,  and  then  what  followeth  vpon  it,  he  sin- 
neth  exceedingly  in  shewing  the  Ambassadors 
the  treasure  in  his  house.  The  Lord  departeth 
from  his  Disciples,  &  his  Disciples  leaue  him  & 
forsake  him.  John :  16.  So  when  it  pleaseth  the 
Lord  to  absent  himselfe,  then  cometh  in  cause  of 
mourning,  and  this  hath  beene  the  reason  that 
the  seruants  of  God  haue  wonderfully  desired 
the  psence  of  the  Lord.  Moses  desired  Gods 
psence,  or  els  never  to  go  vp,  and  so  Dauid,  Ps  : 
27,  9,  because  he  knew  very  well,  if  God  were 
absent  from  him,  then  misery  wold  follow. 

Vse  1.  The  first  vse  may  senie  to  teach  vs  a 
reason,  why  those  that  are  the  children  of  God, 
vpon  their  first  acquaintance  they  get  wth  the 
Lord,  they  are  not  much  addicted  vnto  fasting, 
the  Lord  doth  not  cary  them  that  way ;  the  time 
when  Christ  was  vpon  the  earth,  he  being  psent 
w"1  his  Disciples,  he  was  euer  &  anon  instructing 
of  them  •  when  they  were  in  dobt  of  any  thing, 
he  telleth  them,  and  if  they  cold  not  answere 
many  dobts,  then  Christ  came  &  answered  for 
them,  and  if  at  any  tyme  they  were  in  any  dan- 
ger, then  Christ  comforteth  them,  and  was  euer 
&  anon  wth  them.  And  thus  the  Lord  dealeth 
wth  his  children,  spiritually  in  regard  of  his 
spirituall  psence,  when  Christ  first  cometh  to 
breake  into  the  soules  of  his,  he  is  wonderfully 
pleasant  vuto  them,  and  euer  &  anon  instructing 


of  them  &  comforting  of  them ;  yea,  the  Lord 
heareth  them  before  they  pray,  or  when  they  are 
a  speaking,  &  doth  exceedingly  solace  them ;  but 
afterwards  it  may  be  the  saynts  of  God  may 
come  to  be  left  &  forsaken  of  the  Lord,  either 
because  the  children  of  their  mother  is  angry 
vr&  them,  &  make  them  keepe  the  vyneyard, 
those  vnder  a  covenant  of  works,  maketh  them 
trauaile  vnder  the  burthen  of  that  Covenant,  and 
so  maketh  the  Lord  absent  hirnselfe  from  them, 
and  then  Christ  cometh  to  depart  from  them,  & 
then  they  fast ;  or  els  whilest  they  grow  car  nail, 
&  fall  into  a  spirituall  sleepe,  Christ  leaues  them. 
Cant :  5.  6. 

2.  Secondly,  from  hence  we  are  taught  how  to 
cary  &  behaue  ourselues  now  vpon  this  day  of 
humiliaSon,  there  are  diuers  evills  wch  wee  may 
happily  desire  shold  be  remoued,  both  from 
forrayne  nations  &  from  this  place  where  we 
live,  and  divers  good  things  we  desire  shold  be 
pcured  both  for  them  &  ourselues.  What  is  the 
course  we  must  take  ?  must  we  especially  looke 
after  the  remouing  those  euill  things  &  pcuring 
those  good  things  ?  this  an  hipocrite  will  do,  see 
the  example  of  Ahab,  1  Kings  21 :  27, 28, 29,  and 
the  Lord  will  grant  the  desire  of  hipocrites  :  in 
this  case  see  78  Ps  :  34,  for  there  the  hipocriti- 
call  people  of  the  Jewes  in  their  misery  sought 
the  Lord,  and  the  Lord  being  full  of  compassion, 
he  forgiueth  their  iniquities  &  destroyeth  them 
not,  in  the  38  verse  of  that  psalme :  must  we 
then  do  as  they  did  ?  by  no  meanes  :  What  must 
we  do  then  ?  We  must  looke  first  at  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  &  most  desire  now  that  Jesus  Christ 
may  be  receaued  in  other  nations  &  other  places, 
and  may  be  more  receaued  amongst  our  selues, 
we  must  turne  vnto  the  Lord,  &  then  he  will 
turne  all  into  a  right  frame,  when  many  enimyes 


6 


came  against  Jehosophat,  what  doth  he  ?  he 
goeth  &  seeketh  the  Lord,  &  his  eyes  are  towards 
the  Lord.  2  Cron :  20, 12,  so  the  children  of  God 
are  a  company,  a  generation  that  seeke  the  Lord 
&  his  strength  &  face  euermore,  Ps :  105,  4.  they 
do  not  only  seeke  the  gifts  of  his  spiritt,  but  the 
Lord  himselfe,  they  doe  not  seeke  after  strength 
to  he  receiued  from  the  Lord  only,  but  they 
seeke  after  the  strength  that  is  in  the  Lord,  they 
do  not  seeke  only  to  know  the  Lord  by  fruits  & 
effects,  but  looke  vpon  the  Lord  wth  a  direct  eye 
of  faith  they  seeke  his  face,  and  this  is  the  gen- 
eration of  seekers  spoken  of  Ps :  24, 6,  therefore 
if  we  meane  to  pcure  good  things  &  remooue 
evill  things,  this  will  be  our  course,  seeing  the 
absence  of  the  Lord  is  the  cause  of  fasting,  and 
the  end  of  our  fasting  must  be  our  turning  to  the 
Lord,  &  he  will  turne  to  vs,  Joel  2.  and  thus  the 
Lord  will  turne  all  things  for  the  good  of  his, 
Rom :  8,  32,  if  we*  get  ye  Lorde  Jesus  Ch,  we 
shal  haue  al  things. 

3.  Thirdly,  from  hence  we  are  tought  a  reason, 
why,  thos  y'  doe  not  knowe  the  Lorde  Jesus  Ch, 
they  are  vsially  giuen  ye  most  vnto  fasting,  not 
y«  I  condemne  fasting  by  any  means  ;  but  this  is 
it,  many  times  thos  that  are  the  leaste  aquainted 
wth  ye  Lorde  Jesus  are  giuen  ye  most  of  al  to 
fasting,  ye  Papists  are  giuen  much  to  fasting,  & 
ponish  themselues  by  whiping,  &  ye  people  in 
captiuitie  they  were  not  aquainted  wtb  the  Lorde, 
&  soe  did  notfaste  to  the  Lorde.  Zac  :  7.  5.  6.  & 
appointed  more  fasts  then  the  Lorde  appointed, 
the  4,  5,  10  month,  &  the  Pharoses  fasted  twise  a 
weeke,  Luk.  18.  12.  they  wanted  ye  Lorde  Jesus 

*  The  early  transcript  of  the  Sermon  has  been  followed  to  this 
place  ;  and  here  we  begin  with  the  "  original  manuscript,"  the 
first  eight  pages  of  which  are  wanting. — PUBLISHING  COMMUTES 

or  THE  MASSACHUSETTS  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


Ch,  &  they  must  haue  somethinge  to  reste  vpon, 
&  must  close  wth  some  thinge,  &  because  they 
wante  Ch  they  faste.  This  for  ye  first  vse  of  in- 
struction. 

Vse :  2.  The  second  vse  of  exhortation,  &  it 
serueth  to  exhorte  vs  al,  in  the  feare  of  God,  to 
haue  a  spetial  caire,  that  we  pte  not  wth  ye  Lorde 
Jesus  Ch  :  if  we  pte  wth  Ch  we  pte  wth  our  Hues, 
for  Ch  is  our  life,  saith  Paule,  Col.  3. 4,  the  Lorde 
Jesus  Ch  is  not  onely  the  author  of  our  life,  bnt 
is  the  very  seate  of  the  life  of  God's  childeren,  & 
al  there  life  is  deriued  from  Ch,  for  he  is  y«  roote 
&  he  conuayeth  life  to  ye  branshes,  &  thos  y*  are 
ye  childeren  of  God,  they  Hue  by  ye  faith  of  y» 
sonne  of  God,  Gal,  2.  20.  they  haue  faith  to  lay 
houlde  of  the  sonne  of  God,  &  ye  sonne  of  God 
conuayeth  life  to  them  ;  therefore  if  wepte  wth  Ch, 
we  pte  wth  our  lines,  therefore  it  standeth  vs  all 
in  hande  to  haue  a  caire  Ch  be  not  taken  fro  vs, 
if  we  belonge  to  the  election  of  graise,  Ch  can 
not  be  holy  taken  away  from  vs,  yet  may  be 
taken  away  in  some  degree,  therefore  let  vs  haue 
a  caire  to  keepe  ye  Lorde  Jesus  Ch. 

Ob :  It  may  be  heare  demanded,  what  course 
shal  we  take  to  keepe  the  Lorde  Jesus  Ch.  ? 

A :  The  way  we  must  take,  if  soe  be  we  wil 
not  haue  ye  Lorde  Jesus  Ch  taken  from  vs,  is 
this,  we  must  all  of  vs  ppaire  for  a  spiritual  com- 
bat, we  must  put  on  ye  whole  armor  of  God, 
Eph :  6, 11,  &  must  haue  our  loines  girte,  &  be 
ready  to  fight ;  behould  the  bed  y*  is  Solamos, 
there  is  threskore  valient  men  abought  it,  valient 
men  of  Israel,  euery  one  hath  his  sworde  in  his 
hande,  &  being  experte  in  warre,  &  hath  his 
sworde  girte  on  his  thie,  because  of  feare  in  y« 
night,  if  we  wil  not  fighte  for  y«  Lorde  Jesus  Ch. 
Ch  may  come  to  be  surprised.  Solamon  lyeth  in 
his  bed,  &  there  is  such  men  abought  the  bed  of 


8 


Sollamon,  &  they  watch  ouer  Sollamon,  &  wil 
not  suffer  Sollamo  to  be  taken  away ;  &  who  is 
this  Sollamon,  but  ye  Lorde  Jesus  Ch ;  and  what 
is  ye  bed,  but  ye  Church  of  true  beleeuers,  &  who 
are  those  valient  men  of  Israel,  but  al  the  chil- 
deren  of  God,  they  ought  to  shew  themselues  val- 
lient,  they  should  haue  their  swords  readie,  they 
must  fight,  &  fighte  wth  spiritual  weapons,  for  the 
weapens  of  our  warfaire  are  not  carnal  but  spir- 
itual, &c.  2  Cor :  10,  4.  therefore  wheresoe  euer 
we  Hue,  if  we  would  haue  ye  Lorde  Jesus  Ch  to 
be  aboundantly  prsent  wth  vs,  we  must  all  of  vs 
ppaire  for  battel,  &  come  out  ag*  ye  enymies  of  y9 
Lorde,  &  if  we  doe  not  striue,  those  vnder  a  coue- 
nant  of  workes  wil  pruaile.  We  must  haue  a  spe- 
tial  caire  therefore  to  shewe  our  selues  coragious. 
al  ye  vallient  men  of  Dauid,  &  all  ye  men  of  Is- 
rael, Barak,  &  Debora  &  Jael,  all  must  out  & 
fight  for  Ch ;  curse  ye  Meroz,  because  they  came 
not  ought  to  helpe  ye  Lorde  ag'  ye  mighty,  Judg  : 
5,  23 — therefore  if  we  wil  keepe  ye  Lorde  Jesus 
Ch  &  his  prsence,  &  power  amongst  vs,  we  must 
fight. 

That  thes  things  may  be  ye  better  cleared,  we 
must  vnderstand  &  cal  to  our  considerations,  y*  as 
soone  as  euer  Ch  was  borne  into  ye  world,  Herod 
&  al  Jerusalem  was  troubled.  Math :  2,  &  if  ye 
Lorde  had  not  pruented  him,  he  sought  to  destroy 
him,  &  when  Ch  Jesus  came  once  to  shew  him 
selfe,  &  to  declaire  him  selfe,  &  exersise  his  pub- 
lique  minestery,  ye  world  seteth  them  selues  ag' 
him  to  intrap  him,  &  they  labour  to  kille  him,  & 
neuer  lefte,  til  they  crusified  ye  Lorde  of  glory, 
for  this  was  done  by  Herod  &  Pontius  Pilat,  Act. 
4 ;  &  when  they  had  crusified  him,  that  would  not 
serue  ye  turne,  but  he  being  buried,  they  come 
&  make  it  suer,  &  sealeth  ye  stone,  &  seteth  a 
watch  &  warde,  &  would  haue  buried  y8  Lorde 


9 


for  euer,  &  would  haue  kepte  him  eternally  in 
the  graue,  but  he  raised  him  selfe  by  his  power ; 
and  sins  Ch  reserection  &  assention  al  ye  eny- 
mies  of  ye  Lorde  Jesus  Ch,  they  endeauour  to  doe 
it  spiritually,  &  as  they  buried  ye  Lorde  Jesus 
Ch,  &  laboured  to  keepe  him  there,  soe  spiritu- 
ally they  burie  Ch,  &  they  doe  not  onely  labour 
to  do  this,  y4  are  pagonish,  but  ye  antichtian. 
Why  doe  ye  heathen  raige  &  the  people  imagine 
a  vaine  thing,  Psal.  2,  1,  what  people  are  they, 
the  people  of  God,  ye  people  of  y8  Jues,  this  peo- 
ple doe  imagine  to  take  away  ye  Lorde  Jesus  Ch, 
&  what  hath  beene  ye  practis  of  all  Antechtian 
spirits,  but  onely  to  take  away  ye  Ch,  ye  Son  of 
ye  liueing  God,  &  to  put  in  fals  Ch,  &  to  deceiue 
the  electe,  if  it  were  possible,  Math.  24,  24 ;  for 
what  is  Antech.,  but  one  being  ag*  Ch.,  &  for 
Ch,  his  being  for  Ch,  is  being  ag1  Ch,  he  is  ag' 
Ch.  becaus  he  would  put  one  in  ye  roome  of  Ch, 
therefore  if  we  wil  keepe  the  Lorde  Jesus  Ch 
amongst  vs,  we  must  stande  vpon  our  gairde,  & 
watch  ouer  ye  Lorde  Jesus  Ch,  as  ye  vallient  men 
of  Israel  watched  ouer  Solomon. 

Ob.  It  may  be  heare  demanded  what  course 
must  we  take  to  pruaile  in  this  combat,  for  fight 
we  must  ? 

A.  If  we  would  pruaile  thorow  ye  strength  of 
ye  Lorde  for  of  our  selues  we  can  doe  noe  thinge, 
then  we  must  first  contende  for  ye  faith  once  de- 
liuered  to  ye  saints,  ye  Epistle  of  Jude.  v.  3,  y4  is 
ye  Gospel,  it  was  but  once  deliuered  for  ye  sub- 
stans,  though  many  times  in  regairde  of  ye  man- 
or, we  must  therefore  striue  for  ye  faith  of  ye 
Gospel,  &  striue  togeather  for  y8  Gospel,  Phil. 
1,  27,  if  y '  ye  light  once  be  taken  away,  &  darke- 
nes  come  vpon  ye  face  of  ye  Church,  then  we 
may  be  eaysyly  deluded,  and  a  false  Ch.  put  in 
y«  trew  Ch  roome. 

3 


10 


Ob.  It  may  be  demanded,  what  is  y8  gospel. 

A.  It  is  y*  same  glad  tideings  y'  the  Lorde 
sente  into  ye  world  of  a  Saviour  y'  is  borne  vnto 
vs,  euen  Jesus  Ch  ye  Lorde,  this  same  gospel  is 
y*  heauenly  doctrin  yt  was  pfesied  of  before  by 
ye  pfet  conserning  Jesus  Ch  the  Lorde,  to  be 
maide  of  ye  seede  of  Dauid.  Y8  gospel  is  a 
deuine  heauenly  supnateral  doctrin,  containeing 
in  it  ye  reuelation  of  Jesus  Ch,  to  preach  y8 
Gospel  is  to  preach  Ch,  &  ye  Apostle  sath,  Gal. 
6, 14.  God  forbid  y*  I  should  glory  in  any  thinge 
but  in  ye  crosse  of  Ch  :  soe  ye  Gospel  is  such  a 
doctrin  as  doth  houlde  forth  Jesus  Ch,  &  noe 
thinge  but  Ch,  when  such  a  doctrin  is  houlden 
forth  as  doth  reueale  Jesus  Ch  to  be  our  wisdum, 
our  righteousnes,  our  sanctification,  our  redemp- 
tion. 1  Cor.  1,  30,  when  al  is  taken  away  from  y« 
creatuer,  &  al  giuen  to  Ch,  soe  y*  neither  before 
our  conuertion,  nor  after,  we  are  able  to  put 
forth  one  act  of  true,  saueing  spiritual  wisdum, 
but  we  must  haue  it  put  forth  from  ye  Lorde 
Jesus  Ch,  wth  home  we  are  maide  one ;  &  such  a 
doctrine  houlden  forth  as  declaires  that  we  are 
not  able  to  doe  any  worke  of  sanctification, 
further  then  we  are  acted  by  ye  Lorde,  nor  able 
to  pcuer  our  Justification,  but  it  must  be  the 
Lorde  Jesus  Ch  y1  must  apply  himselfe  &  his 
righteousnes  to  vs,  &  we  are  not  able  to  redeeme 
our  selues  from  ye  least  euel,  but  he  is  our  re- 
demption ;  when  Ch  is  thus  houlden  forth  to  be 
al  in  al,  al  in  ye  roote,  al  in  ye  bransh,  al  in  al, 
this  is  ye  Gospel,  this  is  that  fountaine  open  for 
ye  inhabitants  of  Juday  &  Jerusalem  for  sin  & 
for  vncleanenes :  Zack.  13, 1,  &  this  is  the  well, 
of  wch  ye  wells  vnder  ye  ould  testament  were 
sertaine  tipes,  this  same  wel  must  be  kepte 
open,  if  ye  Philistins  ffille  it  wth  earth,  wth  y* 
earth  of  there  owne  inuentions,  those  yt  are  ye 


11 


seruants  of  Isaack,  true  beleuers,  ye  seruants  of 
the  Lorde,  must  open  ye  wels  againe;  this  is  ys 
light  yt  houldeth  forth  a  greate  light,  yt  is 
Jesus  Ch.  for  he  is  yt  greate  light  yt  lighteneth 
euery  one  yt  cometh  into  ye  world,  John,  1,  9,  & 
if  we  meane  to  keepe  Ch,  we  must  houlde  forth 
this  light. 

Ob :  It  may  be  heare  demanded,  is  there  noe 
thinge  to  be  h  Gulden  forth  in  pointe  of  Justifi- 
cation, but  onely  ye  righteousnes  of  ye  Lorde  Je- 
sus Ch,  may  there  not  be  a  reuelation  of  some 
worke  of  sanctification,  &  from  y1,  may  not  we 
be  carryed  to  Ch  Jesus,  &  soe  come  to  beleeue  in 
ye  Lorde  Jesus  Ch,  must  Ch  be  al  in  this  point 
of  Justification  ? 

A :  Truly  both  in  ye  pointe  of  Justification,  & 
ye  knowledge  of  this  our  Justification  by  faith, 
there  must  be  noe  thinge  in  ye  world  reuealed 
but  Ch  Jesus,  none  other  doctrine  vnder  heauen 
able  to  Justine  any,  but  mearely  ye  reuelation  of 
y"  Lorde  Jesus  Ch.  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the 
Gospel,  saith  Paule,  for  it  is  ye  power  of  God  to 
saluation,  Horn.  1,  16,  how  ?  for  in  it  ye  right- 
eousnes of  God  is  reuealed :  soe  it  could  not  be  a 
doctrine  wth  power  to  conuirte  a  soule,  if  ye  right- 
eousnes of  ye  Lorde  were  not  reuealed  :  therefore 
when  the  Lorde  is  pleased  to  conuirte  any  soule 
to  him,  he  reuealetn  not  to  him  some  worke,  & 
from  yt  worke,  carryeth  him  to  Ch,  but  there  is 
noe  thinge  reuealed  but  Ch  when  Ch  is  lifted  vp, 
he  draweth  all  to  him,  that  belongeth  to  ye  elec- 
tion of  grace;  if  men  think  to  be  saued,  because 
they  see  some  worke  of  sanctification  in  them,  as. 
hungering  &  thirsting  &  ye  like,  if  they  be  saued, 
they  are  saued  wtbout  the  Gospel.  No,  noe,  this 
is  a  couenant  of  workes,  for  in  the  couenant  of 
grace  noething  is  reuealed  but  Ch,  for  our  right- 
eousnes ;  &  soe  for  ye  knowledge  of  our  iustifi- 


12 


cation  by  faith,  noethinge  is  reuealed  to  a  soule 
but  onely  Ch,  &  his  righteousnes  freely  giuen, 
it  was  ye  very  grace  of  God  yt  appeared,  yfc  same 
apperition  whereby  ye  soule  cometh  to  knowe  yl 
he  is  Justified,  ye  obiect  of  it  is  Ch  freely  giuen, 
when  ye  loueing  kindenes  of  Ch  appeared,  in  ye 
3  Titus  5,  not  by  workes  of  righteousnes,  &c., 
they  are  laide  aside,  &  ye  Lorde  reuealeth  onely 
to  them  ye  righteousnes  of  himselfe  giuen  freely 
to  ye  soule,  if  men  haue  reuealed  to  them  some 
worke  of  righteousnes  in  them  selues,  as  loue  to 
ye  bretheren  &  ye  like,  &  heare  vpon  they  come 
to  be  assured  they  are  in  a  good  estaite :  this  is 
not  ye  assurance  of  faith,  for  faith  hath  Ch  re- 
uealed for  ye  obiect,  therefore  if  ye  assurans  of 
ones  iustification  be  by  faith  as  a  worke,  it  is  not 
gospel. 

Ob  :  It  may  be  further  demanded,  must  not  any 
sanctification  in  ye  gospel  be  pressed  vpon  those 
that  are  ye  childeren  of  God,  but  onely  as  it  doth 
come  from  Jesus  Ch  ye  roote,  &  as  he  worketh  it 
in  those  y*  are  true  beleuers. 

A :  Not  in  ye  gospel.  Sanctification  must  be 
preached  noe  other  way,  al  duties  of  sanctification 
pressed  vpon  ye  childeren  of  God,  must  be  soe 
vrged,  as  wth  all  it  be  declaired  y*  they  growe 
from  the  roote  Jesus  Ch.,  worke  out  yor  salua- 
tion  wth  feare  &  trimbleing  Phil.  2, 12 ;  it  is  he 
y*  worketh  in  you  both  to  wil  &  doe  of  his  good 
pleasure ;  this  is  ye  couenant  of  Grace,  ye  Lorde 
Jesus  Ch  wil  be  our  sanctification,  &  worke  sancti- 
fication in  vs  &  for  vs.  A  new  harte  wil  I  giue 
yow,  &  a  new  spirit,  &  they  shal  walke  in  my 
statuts  &  iudgements  to  doe  them.  Ezek.  36,  26, 
27.  I  wil  forgiue  there  sins,  &  wrighte  my  law 
in  there  harts  &  inwarde  ptes ;  If  works  be  soe 
pressed  as  if  a  beleuer  had  power  in  him  selfe  to 
worke,  it  killeth  ye  spirit  of  Gods  childeren,  put 


13 


any  worke  of  sanctification  in  a  legal  phraime  & 
it  killeth  him ;  ye  law  killeth  but  it  is  ye  spirit 
y4  quickens,  yl  is  ye  gospel  in  wch  the  spirit  of 
God  is  conuayed,  when  God  speaketh  he  speak- 
eth  ye  wordes  of  eternal  life,  &  Peter  sath  to 
Ch,  whether  shal  we  goe,  for  wth  ye  is  y6 
wordes  of  eternal  life,  therefore  ought  noe 
workes  of  sanctification  to  be  vrged  vpon  the  ser- 
uants  of  God,  soe  as  if  they  had  a  power  to  doe  it, 
it  wil  kille  ye  soule  of  a  man,  &  it  oppresseth  the 
pore  soules  of  ye  saints  of  God ;  Ch  saith,  Math  : 
11,  28,  come  vnto  me  al  ye  y'  labour  &  are  heauie 
ladened,  &c.,  as  longe  as  we  are  absent  from  Ch, 
we  are  heauie  ladened,  but  when  Ch  pulleth  vs 
to  him  selfe,  &  takes  our  burthen  vpon  him,  then 
we  finde  ease.  Learne  of  me,  for  I  am  meeke  & 
lowly,  &  yow  shal  finde  rest  to  yor  soules.  Ch 
was  soe  meeke  &  lowly,  as  content  to  receiue  al 
fro  the  Father,  &  soe  must  we  be  meeke  &  lowly, 
&  contente  to  receiue  al  from  Ch,  if  ye  duties  be 
pressed  any  other  way,  they  wil  be  burthens  that 
neither  we  nor  our  fathers  wil  be  able  to  beare ; 
therefore  if  we  meane  to  keepe  ye  Lorde  Jesus  Ch, 
we  must  keepe  open  this  fountaine,  &  hould  forth 
this  light,  if  there  be  a  night  of  darkenes,  ye  feare 
saith  the  Spirit  of  God,  is  in  the  night. 

2.  The  second  action  y'  we  must  pforme,  &  ye 
seconde  way  we  must  take  is,  when  enymies  to  y 
truth  oppose  ye  way  of  God,  we  must  lay  loade 
vpon  them,  we  must  kille  them  wth  the  worde 
of  ye  Lorde,  Hos  :  6,  5,  ye  Lorde  hath  giuen  true 
beleuers  power  ouer  y"  nations,  &  they  shal 
breake  them  apeces,  as  shiuered  wth  a  rod  of  Iron  ; 
&  what  rodde  of  Iron  is  this,  but  ye  worde  of  y8 
Lorde,  &  such  honour  haue  al  his  saints,  Psa. 
149,  9.  y6  Lorde  hath  maide  vs  of  thrashing  in- 
struments, wth  teeth,  &  we  must  beate  ye  hils  into 
chafe,  Isa.  41,  15,  therefore  in  ye  feare  of  God 


14 


handle  y«  sworde  of  ye  spirit,  ye  worde  of  God, 
for  it  is  a  too  edged  sworde,  &  Heb.  4, 12,  this 
worde  of  God  cuteth  men  to  y"  very  harte. 

Ob :  It  may  be  obiected  y1  there  wil  be  but 
littel  hope  of  victory  for  ye  seruants  of  God,  be- 
cause ye  childeren  of  God  are  but  few,  &  those 
y*  are  enymies  to  ye  Lorde  &  his  truth  are  many  ? 

A:  Trew,  I  must  confes  &  acknowlege  ye 
saints  of  God  are  few,  they  are  but  a  littel  fiocke, 
&  those  y*  are  enymies  to  ye  Lorde,  not  onely 
Pagonish,  but  Antechristian,  &  those  y*  runne 
vnder  a  couenant  of  workes  are  very  strong  :  but 
be  not  afraide  ye  battel  is  not  yors,but  Gods ;  ye 
know  ye  speech  rendered  by  the  pfet  when  soe 
many  came  agl  Joshua;  Josh.  23, 10,  one  of  yow 
shal  chase  athousand,  &c.  if  we  should  goe  in 
our  owne  strength,  we  should  be  swallowed  vp, 
many  a  time  may  Israel  say.  if  it  had  not  beene 
for  the  Lorde,  we  had  beene  swalowed  vp,  if  it 
weare  not  for  ye  Lorde  of  Hoasts,  there  were  lit- 
tel hope  of  pruaileing  by  ye  saints,  but  out  of  ye 
mouthes  of  babes  &  sucklins,  God  ordaineth  him 
praise,  to  stil  the  enymies,  ye  Lorde  wil  magnyfy 
his  name  in  ye  saints,  &  though  Gods  people  be 
but  few,  yet  it  is  ye  Lorde  of  hoasts,  that  God  of 
heauen  &  earth,  y*  layed'y6  foundation  vpon  ye 
seaes,  &  in  comparison  of  home  all  ye  nations  are 
as  noe  thinge,  Jehouah  is  his  name,  that  greate 
God ;  it  is  Micael  that  fighteth  wth  his  angels ; 
therefore  though  the  people  be  few,  yet  it  is  al 
one  for  God  to  saue  whether  wth  many  or  those 
wch  haue  noe  strength. 

Ob  :  2  It  wil  be  obiected  y'  diners  of  those  who 
are  opposite  to  ye  waies  of  grace,  &  free  covenant 
of  grace,  they  are  wonderous  holy  people,  there- 
fore it  should  seeme  to  be  a  very  vncharitable 
thing  in  ye  seruants  of  God  to  condemne  such,  as 
if  soe  be  they  were  enymies  to  the  Lorde  &  his 


15 


truth,  whils  they  are  soe  exceeding  holy  &  stricte 
in  there  way. 

A:  Bretheren,  those  vnder  a  couenant  of 
workes,  ye  more  holy  they  are,  ye  greater  eny- 
mies  they  are  to  Ch,  Paule  acknowledgeth  as 
much  in  ye  1  Gal :  he  sath  he  was  zelus  acording 
to  ye  Law,  &  ye  more  he  founde  in  a  legal  way, 
ye  more  he  prsecuted  the  waies  of  grace,  13  & 
14  Act.  where  al  deuout  people  were  such  as  did 
expel  Paule  out  of  Antioch,  &  out  of  all  ye  coasts. 
It  maketh  noe  matter  how  seemingly  holy  men 
be,  according  to  the  law,  if  they  doe  not  know 
ye  worke  of  grace  &  waies  of  God ;  they  are  such 
as  truste  to  there  righteousnes ;  they  shal  dye, 
sath  ye  Lorde,  Ezek.  33, 13 :  what  a  cursed  right- 
eousnes is  that,  y*  thrusteth  out  ye  righteousnes 
of  Ch,  the  Apostle  speaketh  they  shal  transforme 
themselues  into  an  Angel  of  light,  2  Cor.  11, 
14,  therefore  it  maketh  noe  matter,  how  holy  men 
be,  yt  haue  noe  acquaintance  w*  Ch.  Seest 
thou  a  man  wise  in  his  owne  conceite,  more  hope 
there  is  of  a  foole  then  of  him.  Pro.  26,  12. 
We  know  (thorow  ye  mercy  of  God)  as  soone  as 
Ch  cometh  into  ye  soule,  he  maketh  ye  creatuer 
noe  thinge,  therefore  if  men  be  soe  holy,  &  soe 
stricte,  &  zelus,  &  trust  to  themselues  &  there 
righteousnes,  &  knoweth  not  ye  waies  of  grace, 
but  opposeth  free  grace;  such  as  those  haue  not 
ye  Lorde  Jesus  Ch,  therefore  set  vpon  such 
wth  ye  sworde  of  the  spirit,  ye  worde  of  God. 

Ob  :  3.  Itwil  be  obiected,  y*  ye  childeren  of  God 
should  be  a  meeke  generation,  it  is  an  exhortation 
ye  Apostle  giueeth,  Jam.  3,  13. 

A :  ffor  to  fight  corragiously,  in  ye  cause  of 
God,  &  to  be  meeke,  they  are  diuers,  but  not  op- 
posits,  they  may  stande  very  wel  togeather :  yow 
know  when  Steuen  was  in  a  meeke  phrae,  for 
ye  spirit  of  God  was  in  him,  and  was  in  a  calme 


16 


quiet  frame  &  disposetion :  &  yow  see  what  a 
vehement  speech  Steuen  maide  to  ye  enymies  of 
God,  Act  7,  51,  it  cuteth  them  to  ye  very  harte, 
yet  Steuen,  a  meeke  man,  he  prayeth  for  his  eny- 
mies in  a  meeke  phrame  of  spirit,  &  yet  vehement 
to  those  that  oppose  ye  waies  of  God.  Oh  was 
meeke,  I  am  suer  yow  wil  say,  &  he  sath,  learne 
of  me,  for  I  am  meeke  and  lowly,  yet  when  he 
cometh  to  those  that  did  oppose  ye  waies  of  grace, 
yow  are  the  childeren  of  ye  Deuel,  Joh.  8,  44,  & 
in  the  23d  Math:  23,  woe  be  to  yow,  Scribs, 
Pharises,  hipocrits,  a  vehement  speech  he  vseth, 
yet  Ch  ye  meekest  y*  euer  was,  therefore  yow  may 
eaysyly  beate  downe  thos  houlds  by  ye  sworde  of 
ye  spirit,  ye  worde  of  God. 

Ob :  4  It  wil  be  obiected  this  wil  cause  a  com- 
bustean  in  Church  &  comanwealth. 

A :  I  must  confesse  &  acknowlege  it  wil  doe 
soe,  but  what  then,  did  not  Ch  come  to  sende 
fier  vpon  ye  earth  ?  Luke  12,  49,  &  what  is  it, 
yt  it  were  already  kindled,  he  desireth  it  were 
kindled,  &  it  is  ye  desier  of  ye  spirit  of  ye  saints 
yt  this  fier  were  kindled;  is  not  this  that  that  is 
pfesyed  of,  Isa.  9,  5.  This  battel  betweene  Mi- 
cael  &  his  Angels,  ye  battel  betwene  Gods  peo- 
ple &  those  that  are  not,  thos  battels  of  Chtians 
must  be  burneing,  and  what  is  it,  but  ye  burneing 
of  ye  worde  of  God,  accompanyed  by  ye  Holy 
Goast,  this  prophisied  of  in  Mai.  4,  1,  ye  day 
shal  come  yt  shal  burne  like  an  ouen,  &  al 
ye  wiced  shal  be  stuble,  &c.  this  is  ye  terible  day 
of  ye  Lorde,  when  the  gospel  is  thus  helde  forth, 
this  [is]  a  terible  day  to  al  those  yt  doe  not  obey 
ye  Gospel  of  Ch.  Bretheren,  we  know  that  y6 
whore  must  be  burnt,  Reu :  18,  it  is  not  shaueing 
of  her  heade,  &  paireing  her  nails,  &  changeing 
her  rayment,  that  wil  serue  ye  turne,  but  this 
whore  must  be  burnt.  Many  speake  of  ye  ex- 


17 


ternal  burneing  of  Rome,  but  I  am  suer  there 
must  be  a  spiritual  burneing,  &  y*  burneing  by 
ye  fier  of  ye  Gospel.  This  way  must  Antech  be 
consumed.  2  Thes  :  2.  why  should  we  not  further 
this  fier,  who  knoweth  how  soone  those  Jues  may 
be  conuirted,  Keu  :  18. 19.  chap,  after  ye  burneing 
of  ye  whore  follows  Alleluia,  a  praiseing  of  ya 
Lorde  in  Hebrue ;  we  knowe  not  how  soone  y» 
conuirtion  of  the  Jues  may  come,  &  if  they  come, 
they  must  come  by  ye  downefal  of  Antech,  &  if 
we  take  him  away,  we  must  burne  him,  therefore 
neuer  feare  combustions  &  burneings. 

Ob :  Lastly  it  may  be  obiected  ag4  thos  curn- 
bats  &  fightings,  if  minesters  &  Chtians  be  soe 
downeright,  &  soe  striue  &  contende,  &  houlde 
forth  ye  worde  of  God,  wth  such  violens  &  power, 
this  wil  be  a  meanes  to  discorage  those  yl  are 
weake  Chtians,  &  doe  them  a  greate  deale  of 
hurte. 

A  :  Let  ye  Gospel  be  neuer  soe  clearely  helde 
forth,  it  neuer  hurteth  ye  childeren  of  God,  noe 
it  doth  them  a  greate  deale  of  good,  y*  same  very 
fier  of  the  worde,  y*  burneth  vp  al  vnbeleefers,  & 
al  vnder  a  couenant  of  workes,  y*  Gospel  doth 
exceedingly  cleare  Gods  childeren.  Mai :  4,  2. 
then  ye  sonne  of  righteousnes  shal  come  wth 
healeing  in  his  wings,  &c.  &  in  Math.  3,  Ch 
when  he  handeleth  ye  gospel,  he  layeth  ye  axe 
to  ye  roote  of  ye  tree,  &  what  followeth  heare- 
vpon,  he  will  purge  his  flore,  layeth  ye  axe  to 
ye  roote,  &  cuteth  downe  al  hipocrits,  &  those 
yt  builde  vpon  any  thinge  besids  Ch,  &  then 
he  wil  purge  his  Church,  &  gather  ye  wheate 
into  ye  garner,  true  beleuers  wil  come  in;  vn- 
beleuers  &  hipocrits,  chafie  wil  be  al  burnt  vp : 
soe  ye  same  Gospel  y*  is  a  worde  of  terror  to 
wiced  men,  is  a  greate  cumforte  to  all  that  be- 
leeue  in  ye  Lorde  Jesus  Ch. 
4 


18 


3.  Thirdly,  if  we  meane  to  keep  ye  Lorde  Jesus 
Ch,  we  must  be  wiling  to  suffer  any  thinge,  yow 
knowe  in  12  Keu :  11,  the  saints  of  God  ouer 
came,  &  ouer  came  by  ye  bloode  of  ye  Lambe,  y' 
is,  by  ye  Lorde  Jesus  Ch,  &  worde  of  ye  testi- 
mony, y*  is,  the  Gospel,  &  they  loue  not  there 
Hues  to  death,  y*  is,  if  we  wil  ouercome,  we  must 
not  loue  our  liues,  but  be  wiling  to  be  killed  like 
sheepe ;  it  is  vnpossible  to  houlde  forth  ye  truth 
of  God  w>h  external  peace  &  quietnes,  if  we  will 
pruaile,  if  we  be  cauled,  we  must  be  wiling  to 
lay  downe  our  liues,  &  shal  ouercome  by  soe  doe- 
ing  ;  Samson  slew  more  at  his  death,  then  in  his 
life,  &  soe  we  may  puaile  more  by  our  deathes, 
then  by  our  liues. 

4.  ffburthly,  if  we  wil  keepe  Ch,  we  must  con- 
sider y*  we  can  not  doe   any  of  this,  by  any 
strength  y*  is  in  our  selues,  but  we  must  consider 
y*  it  is  ye  Lorde  y*  must  helpe  vs  &  acte  in  vs,  & 
worke  in  vs,  &  ye  Lorde  must  doe  all.     When  as 
Zerobabel  &  Joshua  &  ye  people  came  out  of  cap- 
tiuity  to  builde  ye  temple,  they  al  take  there  rest, 
&  leteth  ye  temple  alone,  til  ye  Lorde  come  & 
stirre  vp  ye  spirit  of  Zerobabel  &  Joshua  &  ye 
people,    &    then   they  falle    of  building :     soe 
(bretheren)  we  may  thinke  to  doe  greate  matters ; 
and  lye  quiatly  &  calmely,  &  let  ye  enymies  of 
y«  Church  doe  what  they  wil,  till  ye  Lorde  stirre 
ve  vp;  ye  Judges  stired  not,  till  the  spirit  of 
God  came  vpon  them,  &  then  they  did  wonderful 
things,  soe  in  some  measure  we  must  looke  for 
ye  spirit  of  ye  Lorde  to  come  vpon  vs,  &  then  we 
shal  doe  mighty  things  thorow  ye  Lorde,  it  is  ye 
Lorde  himselfe  y4  must  effecte  &  doe  all :  this  for 
the  first  exhortation,  not  to  suffer  the  Lorde  Jesus 
Ch  to  be  taken  violently  away  from  vs,  wheresoe 
euer  we  Hue,  we  shall  finde  some  y  *  goe  vnder  a  cou- 
enantof  workes,&  those  are  enymies  to  Ch,  &  ye 


19 


flesh  will  luste  ag'y"  spirit,  &c.  Gal :  5, 17,  &  soe  we 
shal  finde  it  in  our  spirits,  those  y*  are  in  ye  flesh, 
mind  the  things  of  ye  flesh,  Kom :  8,  5 ;  there- 
fore, wheresoe  euer  we  are,  we  shal  haue  Ch 
taken  away  from  vs  by  violence,  if  ye  Lorde  be 
not  pleased  to  giue  vs  to  use  those  meanes. 

Vse  2.  The  second  vse  of  exhortation,  wey4  are 
vnder  a  couenant  of  grace,  let  vs  all  haue  a  caire 
soe  to  carry  our  seines  y*  we  may  haue  ye  psens 
of  the  Lorde,  yl  he  may  not  depte  from  vs  ;  for  if 
ye  Lorde  depte,  then  we  shal  haue  cause  of  morne- 
ing  indeede.  Y*  we  may  carry  and  behane  our 
selues,  as  yo  Lorde  Jesus  Ch,  who  is  amongst  vs, 
y*  he  may  stil  be  more  &  more  prsent  wth  vs. 

1.  We  must  haue  a  spetial  caire,  in  the  first 
place,  y*  as  any  of  vs  is  interested  w*  the  gospel, 
soe  to  deale  faithfully  in  the  despenceing  of  it, 
whether  we  be  in  place  or  not  in  place,  whether 
bretheren  or  sisters,  being  maide  ptakers  of  the 
grace  of  God,  being  maide  stuards,  we  are  to  be 
founde  faithful,  therefore  let  vs  haue  a  caire  to 
deale  faithfully,  &  hould  forth  ye  truth,  as  it  is 
in  the  Lorde  Jesus  Ch,  &  then  we  shal  finde 
ye  Lorde  to  be  prsent  wth  Vs,  Math  :  28,  28.  Be- 
hould  I  am  wth  yow,  if  y°  teach  y*,  y*  he  hath 
comanded,  he  wil  be  wte  them,  therefore  in 
ye  feare  of  God  haue  a  caire,  y'  we  do  renounce 
ye  hidden  things  of  dishonesty,  &  we  doe  not  vse 
any  deceate.  Let  vs  not  be  as  some  y*  doe  cor- 
rupte  ye  worde,  but  as  in  senserity,  in  ye  sight 
of  God,  as  in  Jesus  Ch :  soe  let  vs  speake,  let 
vs  all  haue  a  caire  to  hould  forth  Ch,  &  not  runne 
into  general yties.  If  Ch  vanish  away  in  a  cloude, 
ye  saints  of  God  stande  gaiseing,  &  haue  sad  harts, 
when  we  are  to  houlde  forth  any  truth,  let  vs  deale 
faithfully  in  this  kinde,  &  ye  Lorde  wil  be 
abundantly  prsent,  we  shal  finde  he  shal  be  a 
Saueour  where  soe  euer  he  cometh  either  of  life 


or  death,  &  if  we  be  faithful  in  a  few  things,  he 
wil  make  vs  rulers  ouer  many,  Math.  25  :  there- 
fore if  we  meaue  to  inioy  ye  prsence  of  Ch,  &  stil 
to  haue  more  of  ye  Lorde  Jesus  Ch,  &  haue  Ch 
to  come  and  say,  good  &  faithful  seruant,  &  be- 
stowe  more  of  his  prsens  amongst  vs,  let  vs  be 
faithful  in  despenceing  any  worde  of  truth. 

2.  Secondly,  let  vs  haue  a  caire,  al  of  vs,  yt  we 
loue  one  an  other ;  this  is  my  comandement  y*  ye 
loue  one  an  other,  as  I  have  louedyow,Uoh.  3,23 : 
ye  Lorde  Ch  delighteth  in  a  loueing  people,  when 
the  saints  of  God  loue  one  an  other,  and  are  wil- 
ing to  lay  downe  there  Hues  one  for  an  other, 
ye  Lorde  delighteth  in  it,  Ch  was  loueing  when 
he  was  vpon  the  earth,  if  the  desiples  were  in 
danger  at  any  time,  he  came  &  supported  them, 
&  helped  them,  when  they  were  poased  by  the 
scribs  &  pharises  sometims  he  came  &  answered 
for  them.     Act  2,  15.  sum  mocked  at  them,  then 
Peter  stepeth  vp  &  sath,  thos  are  not  drunke  as 
ye    suppose,  he  loued  them  and  answered   for 
them.    Moses  seeing  an  Egiptian  striueing  wth 
his  brother,  he  came  &  killed  him.     Act.  7,  24, 
25,  26 ;  soe  Ch  puteth  into  his  people  a  loueing 
spirit,  therefore  let  vs  haue  a  caire  y*  we  doe  not 
allienate  our  harts  one  from  an  other,  because  of 
diuers  kindes  of  expressions,  but  let  vs  keepe  y6 
vnity  of  the  spirit  in  the  bonde  of  peace,  let  vs 
haue  a  caire  to  loue  one  an  other,  &  then  ye  Lorde 
Jesus  Ch  wil  be  stil  more  &  more  prsent. 

3.  Thirdly,  let  vs  haue  a  caire  that  we  doe 
shew  our  semes  holy  in  all  maner  of  good  con- 
uirsation,  1  Pet.  1,  5,  both  in  priuat  &  publique, 
&  in  all  our  carriges  &  conuersations,  let  vs  haue 
a  caire  to  indeuour  to  be  holy  as  y«  Lorde  is  j  let 
vs  not  giue  ocaytion  to  those  y*  are  comeing  on, 
or  manyfestly  opposite  to  ye  waies  of  grace,  to 
susspect  ye  way  of  grace,  let  vs  cary  our  selues 


21 


that  they  may  be  ashamed  to  blaime  vs ;  let  vs 
deale  vprightly  wth  those  with  home  we  haue 
ocaytion  to  deale,  &  haue  a  caire  to  guide  our 
famylis,  &  to  pforme  duties  y*  belonge  to  vs;  & 
let  vs  haue  a  caire  y*  we  giue  not  ocaytion  to 
others  to  say  we  are  libertines,  or  Antenomens, 
but  Chtians ;  let  vs  expresse  ye  vertue  of  him  y' 
hath  cauled  vs,  &  then  he  wil  manifest  hisp'sence 
amongst  vs,  John  14,  if  yow  loue  me  I  wil  many- 
fest  my  selfe  to  yow ;  he  wil  crowne  his  owne 
worke  wth  his  prsence,  he  wil  come  into  his  gar- 
den, &  eate  of  the  pleasant  fruts :  therefore  let  vs 
carry  our  selues,  soe  yl  we  may  haue  no  cause  of 
mourning,  for  if  ye  Lorde  be  absente,  there  is 
cause  of  morneing. 

Vse.  3.  The  third  vse  for  reproofe,  &  first  it 
serueth  to  condemne  al  such  as  in  there  fastings 
&  dayes  of  humiliation  doe  principlely  &  aboue 
al  seeke  for  blesseings  to  be  poured,  &  euels  to 
be  remooued,  and  this  is  y'  that  they  are  first 
carryed  vnto,  this  is  not  ye  maine  matter,  y«  maine 
matter  is,  the  absens  of  ye  Lorde ;  therefore  if 
we  wil  doe  as  we  ought  to  doe,  and  pforme  this 
duty  aright  way,  we  must  first  of  all  be  carryed 
vnto  the  Lorde  Jes.  Ch :  they  may  pcure  greate 
blesseings  frome  ye  Lorde,  &  yet  ye  Lorde  neuer 
accept  of  them,  they  may  pray  to  y"  Lorde,  & 
fast  &  humble  themaelues,  &  y«  Lord  may  heare 
them  &  pdon  them,  &  turne  away  his  wrath ;  & 
yet  for  all  y4,  neuer  saue  them,  how  did  the 
Lorde  carry  himselfe  towards  the  people  of  y« 
Jues,  yow  know  the  Lorde  gaue  them  his  prsence 
in  the  wildernes,  &  gaue  them  an  extraordinary 
signe  of  his  prsence,  they  had  a  piller  of  fier  by 
night  &  cloude  by  day,  &  the  Lorde  did  cause  ya 
angel  of  his  p'sence  to  goe  before  them,  &  gaue 
them  his  good  spirit  to  instructe  them,  Isa.  63. 
&  yet  for  al  y*,  y«  body  of  them  was  hipocrits,  & 


22 


ye  Lorde  sware  in  his  wrath,  y'  they  should 
neuer  enter  into  his  rest,  what  is  ye  matter,  they 
pcure  vnto  themselues  things  from  God  &  ye 
blesseing  of  God ;  but  they  did  not  get  ye  Lorde 
himselfe,  they  had  ye  Angel  of  Gods  prsence  to 
goe  before  them,  they  had  not  y_e  Lorde  Jesus 
Ch  in  them,  they  had  yj  spirit  to  instructe  them, 
but  not  y-  spirit  to  dwel  in  them,  they  pcure  to 
themselues  blesseings  from  y«.-  Lorde,  but  they 
neuer  get  the  Lorde  of  blesseings;  therefore  al 
those  yl  doe  turne  vnto  those  blesseings  in  ye  first 
place,  &  doe  not  first  of  al  turne  vnto  the  Lorde, 
wil  neuer  be  maide  ptakers  of  yj  Lorde. 

2.  The  second  sorte  to  be  condemned,  are  all  such 
as  doe  set  themselues  ag*  y°  Lorde  Je.  Ch.  such 
are  ye  greatest  enymies  to  ye  staite  yt  can  be,  if 
they  can  haue  there  wils,  yow  see  what  a  lamen- 
table estaite  both  church  &  coman  welth  wil  be 
in,  then  we  haue  neede  of  morneing,  the  Lorde 
he  cannot  indure  those  y*  are  enymies  to  himselfe 
&  people,  &  vnto  y  good  of  his  church,  such  shal 
neuer  be  able  to  pruaile  ag1  the  Lorde.  What 
wil  be  the  end  &  Issue,  doe  yow  thinke,  if  peo- 
ple doe  set  them  selues  ag4  the  waies  of  grace  & 
ye  Lorde  Jesus  Ch?  this  wil  be  ye  Issue  of  it, 
those  that  oppose  y«  waies  of  grace,  &  resist  the 
truth,  they  shall  waxe  worse  &  worse,  2  Tim.  3, 
&  they  may  happily  pseede  a  great  way,  but 
y  time  wil  come  that  they  shal  goe  noe  further, 
&  by  reason  of  ye  agitations  of  things,  it  wil 
come  to  passe,  y*  ye  truth  wil  be  cleared,  &  there 
follye  wil  be  manyfested  to  al  men,  soe  sath 
ye  Apostle;  it  is  a  harde  thinge  to  kicke  ag'  the 
pricks.  Act.  9,  5,  who  soe  euer  striueeth  ag*  y" 
Lorde  can  not  psper ;  if  men  or  women  doe  fame 
vpon  ye  Lorde  Jes.  Ch  they  breake,  but  if  y 
Lorde  Jes.  Ch  doe  faule  vpon  them,  he  wil  breake 
them  all  to  pouder,  if  any  faule  vpon  Ch,  &  they 


23 


will  not  let  Ch  alone ;  but  faule  vpon  them  wck 
houlde  him  forth,  &  wil  abuse  them,  &  be  buffet- 
ing ye  Lorde  Je  Ch,  there  is  neuer  a  stroke  they 
giue,  but  maketh  wounds  in  their  consciences, 
but  if  they  wil  be  heaueing  out  Oh,  they  shal 
finde  it  ye  heauiest  stone  that  euer  was,  it  wil 
faule  &  breake  them  all  to  pouder,  if  people  set 
themselues  ag4  ye  Lorde,  &  ye  waies  of  grace, 
&  his  truth,  this  wil  be  ye  issue  of  it  on  there 
pte,  either  those  yt  set  [them]  selues  ag*  ye  waies 
of  God,  ya  wil  be  put  to  silence  by  ye  light  y* 
cumeth  from  Ch.,  yl  they  wil  be  soe  conuinsed, 
y*  they  shal  not  be  able  to  speake  any  more  in 
there  cause,  as  Ch  put  downe  those  that  came 
ag*  him,  yl  they  durst  aske  him  noe  more  ques- 
tions, &  there  cumeth  such  a  power  from  ye  worde 
helde  forth  by  ye  saints  of  God,  y*  it  wil  strike  a 
feare  into  there  harts  y'  oppose  it.  What  ailest 
thou,  0  Jordan,  y*  ye  fluds  goe  backe,  tremble 
thou  earth  at  ye  prsens  of  ye  Lorde,  yft  that  cum 
to  take  Ch,  they  fel  backe,  there  cumeth  a  deuine 

EDwer  from  ye  Lorde,  &  turneth  them  al  backe,  ye 
orde  wil  strike  wt!l  trimbleing  those  y*  cum 
ag1  Jerusalem,  or  if  they  be  not  put  to  silence, 
it  wil  come  to  passe  in  time,  they  wil  fanle 
into  wonderful  stronge  passions,  &  wil  quaril 
wfh  y«  saints  of  God :  it  was  ye  caise  of  Zedekiah 
&  Micaiah,  ye  question  was  wch  of  them  had  ya 
spirit  of  God,  he  came  &  smott  ye  pfet  vpon  the 
cheeke,  but  God's  spirit  is  noe  smiteing  spirit. 
Steuen  conuinsed  ye  Jues,  &  did  by  ye  power  of 
ye  Holy  Goast,  euidence  his  cause  to  be  ye  cause 
of  God,  and  y"  were  not  able  to  resist  ye  spirit  by 
wch  he  spake,  &  they  al  came  <%  runne  vpon  him, 
why  doe  yow  resiste  ye  Holy  Goaste  ?  what 
maketh  y"  sin  ag1  j'~  Holy  Goaste,  but  enlighten- 
ing, &  seting  them  selues  ag4  ye  waies  of  truth,  & 
psecuting  it  in  malis  &  wrath  j  it  is  a  feareful 


24 


thing  to  faille  into  y«  hands  of  ye  liueing  God. 
Heb.  10,  31,  for  our  God  is  a  consumeing  fier, 
Heb.  12,  29,  let  euery  one  (in  the  feare  of  God) 
haue  a  caire,  how  they  set  themselues  ag*  y 
truth  &  waies  of  God,  &  ye  waies  of  Jesus  Ch,  for 
we  must  al  appeare  before  ye  Judgement  seate  of 
Ch.2Cor.  5,  10. 

Vse  4.  The  last  vse  shal  be  for  consolation, 
(howsoeuer  this  be  a  day  of  humiliation,  yet 
y*  apprehention  of  Gods  grace,  and  mercy,  &  good- 
nes,  it  worketh  ye  kindlyest  humiliation,  sins  are 
to  be  considered  &  looked  vpon,  but  sins  ag' 
ye  God  of  grace  may  melte  one :  in  y1  day  I  will 
power  vpon  them  ye  spirit  of  grace,  &  they  shall 
morne,  &c.  Zack:  12,  10.  therefore  y8  last  vse 
shal  be  for  consolation,)  &  it  may  serue  to  cum- 
forte  the  childeren  of  God,  wf>  doe  houlde  forth 
ye  Lorde  Jesus  Ch,  &  doth  desier  y1  ye  Lorde  Je 
Ch  might  be  receiued  into  churches,  into  phamy- 
lies,  into  ye  harts  of  ye  people  of  God.  (breth- 
eren)  those  y1  walke  this  way,  are  ye  greatest 
freinds  vnto  ye  church  &  vnto  coman  welth ; 
they  intende,  &  labour,  &  indeauour  to  bringe  hi 
ye  Lorde  Je  Ch,  &  if  Ch  be  prsent,  there  wil  be 
noe  greate  cause  of  fasting  &  morneing:  there- 
fore let  me  (in  ye  name  of  God)  incorage  al  those 
y1  houlde  forth  the  waies  of  grace  &  doe  indeau- 
our to  make  knowne  ye  Lorde  Jesus  Ch.  Breth- 
eren  &  Sisters  endeuour  to  bringe  Cli  into 
ye  harts  of  people,  &  then  yow  shal  make 
ye  Church  happie,  &  yo'selues  shal  be  happie ; 
lifte  vp  yor  heads  0  ye  gaits,  &c.  Psal.  24,  7, 
bringe  the  Lorde  Je  Ch  not  onely  into  thy  howse, 
but  into  thy  chamber  of  him  y*  did  beget  yow, 
endeauour  it  for  this  is  God's  way,  &  it  is  a  way 
to  bringe  peace  &  happynes,  both  to  church  & 
coman  welth. 

Secondly,  it  may  cumforte  ye  saints  of  God  in 


25 


this  respect,  y1  seeing  y'  the  Lorde  Je  Ch  his 
absence  is  ye  cause  of  fasting  &  morneing,  this  is 
a  cumforte  to  ye  childeren  of  God,  y*  cum  what 
wil  come,  they  shal  be  in  a  happy  estaite,  they 
shal  be  blessed,  suppose  those  that  are  Gods 
childeren  should  loose  there  howses,  &  lands,  & 
wiues,  &  freinds,  &  loose  ye  actings  of  ye  gifte  of 
grace,  &  loose  y«  ordenanses,  yet  they  can  neuer 
loose  ye  Lorde  Je  Ch ;  this  [is]  a  greate  cumforte 
to  Gods  people  :  suppose  the  saints  of  God  should 
be  banished,  depriued  of  al  the  ordenanses  of 
God,  y'  were  a  harde  caise  (in  sum  respect)  for 
we  had  better  pte  wth  al,  then  ye  ordenanses; 
but  if  ye  ordenanses  should  be  taken  away,  yet 
Ch  can  not,  for  if  John  be  banished  into  an 
Hand,  Reu.  1,  9,  10,  &  ye  spirit  cum  vpon  him  on 
ye  Lord's  day,  there  is  amends  for  the  ordenan- 
ses, amends  for  banishment,  if  we  loose  ye  or- 
denanses for  God,  he  wil  be  ordenanses  to  vs. 
Therefore  let  ye  saints  of  God  be  incoraged, 
though  they  should  loose  al  they  haue,  yet  they 
being  maide  one  in  Ch,  &  Ch  dweling  in  there 
harts  by  faith,  they  may  be  pswaded  noethinge 
can  seperate  them  from  Ch.  Rom.  8,  38,  39: 
therefore  let  ye  saints  of  God  reioyse  y*  they 
haue  ye  Lorde  Je  Ch,  &  there  names  written  in 
ye  booke  of  life,  be  glad  &  reioyce,  for  greate  is 
yor  rewarde  in  heauen. 


NOTES 

By  the  Publishing  Committee  of  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society. 

I. 

The  original  manuscript  of  Wheelwright's  Sermon,  or  what 
has  sometimes  been  supposed  to  be  the  original  (though  we 
have  not  been  able  to  compare  it  with  any  of  Wheelwright's 
known  writing),  is  in  the  archives  of  this  Society.  From 
some  memoranda  upon  one  of  the  blank  leaves,  It  appears  to 
have  once  been  in  the  possession  of  John  Coggeshall,  one  of 
Wheelwright's  contemporaries  and  adherents.  It  originally 
contained  forty-two  pages,  the  first  eight  of  which  are  now 
wanting.  There  is,  however,  a  complete  transcript  of  the  Ser- 
mon, in  an  ancient  hand,  among  the  Hutchinson  manuscripts 
in  the  library  of  the  Society. 

In  the  copy  which  has  been  made  for  the  press,  the  original 
has  been  followed  ;  and  the  part  wanting  in  that  has  been  sup- 
plied from  the  ancient  transcript  referred  to.  This  differs  from 
the  original  principally  in  its  orthography. 

The  sermon  was  preached  on  a  fast-day  appointed  by  the 
General  Court  of  Massachusetts  to  be  held  on  the  19th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1636-7.  Dr.  Palfrey  thinks  it  was  delivered  at  Mount- 
Wollaston  Church,  which  was  then  a  branch  of  the  Boston  First 
Church  ;  but  from  the  Brief e  Apollogie  in  defence  of  the 
Court  (probably  written  by  Winthrop),  printed  in  the  Short 
Story,  p.  52,  it  seems  certain  that  it  was  preached  in  Bos- 
ton. Dr.  Lunt  thinks  it  by  no  means  improbable,  that  Wheel- 
wright preached  it  to  his  own  congregation  at  Mount-  Wollaston 
in  the  forenoon,  and  repeated  the  substance  of  it  at  the  Boston 
Church  in  the  afternoon,  after  Cotton  had  concluded  his  dis- 
course. For  the  preaching  of  this  sermon,  Wheelwright  was 
adjudged  by  the  Court  "  guilty  of  sedition."  Winthrop  tells 
the  story  thus  :  "  Mr.  Wheelwright,  one  of  the  members  of 
'  Boston,  preaching  at  the  last  fast,  inveighed  against  all  that 
1  walked  in  a  covenant  of  works,  as  he  described  it  to  be,  viz. 
'such  as  maintain  sanctification  as  an  evidence  of  justification, 
'  &c.  and  called  them  antichrists,  and  stirred  up  the  people 
'against  them  with  much  bitterness  and  vehemency.  For 
'  this  he  was  cal  led  into  the  court,  and  his  sermon  being  pro- 
'  duced,  he  justified  it,  and  confessed  he  did  mean  all  that 
1  walk  in  such  a  way.  Whereupon  the  elders  of  the  rest  of  the 
'  churches  were  called,  and  asked  whether  they,  in  their  min- 
'•  istry,  did  walk  in  such  a  way.  They  all  acknowledged  they 


"  did.  So,  after  much  debate,  the  court  adjudged  him  guilty 
"  of  sedition,  and  also  of  contempt,  for  that  the  court  had  ap- 
"  pointed  the  fast  as  a  means  of  reconciliation  of  the  differences, 
"  &c.  and  he  purposely  set  himself  to  kindle  and  increase  them," 
&c.  Scarcely  more  than  a  brief  allusion  to  the  famous  "  Anti- 
"  nomian  controversy  in  Massachusetts  "  can  be  made  in  this 
note :  and  we  would  refer  those  interested  in  this  subject  to 
Savage's  edition  of  Winthrop's  History  of  New  England  ; 
Ellis's  Life  of  Anne  Hulchinson,  in  Sparks's  American  Biog- 
raphy ;  and  Palfrey's  History  of  New  England.  See  also 
Lunt's  Two  [Bi-centenaryl  Discourses  delivered  September 
29th,  1839,  at  Quincy.* 

Mr.  Savage,  who  read  this  Sermon,  over  forty  years  ago, 
while  editing  Winthrop's  History,  unhesitatingly  declares 
(i.  215),  that  its  character  "  was  not  such  as  can  justify 
"the  court  in  their  sentence  for  sedition  and  contempt,"  &c. 
Dr.  Palfrey,  who  gives  a  long  extract  from  it  on  page  479  of 
the  first  volume  of  his  History,  thinks  that  "  the  composition  is 
"  of  that  character  which  is  common  with  skilful  agitators. 
"Along  with  disclaimers  of  the  purpose  to  excite  to  physical 
"violence,  it  abounds  in  language  suitable  to  bring  about  that 
"  result,"  &c. 

A  tract  entitled,  A  Glass  fnr  the  people  of  New  England, 
....  By  S.  G.  [room],  evidently  a  Quaker,  published  in 
England  in  1676,  contains  some  extracts  from  this  sermon  ; 
from  which  it  is  inferred  that  it  continued  to  circulate  in  manu- 
script for  many  years.  Dr.  Palfrey  (History  of  New  En- 
gland, i.  480)  discovered  that  one  passage  in  the  Glass, 
there  attributed  to  Wheelwright,  is  not  contained  in  the  Ser- 
mon, but  is  the  conclusion  of  Vane's  Brief e  Answer,  to  Win- 
throp,  in  Ilutchinson's  Collection  of  Original  Papers,  82,  83. 

II. 

The  fast  was  appointed  by  the  General  Court  to  be  held  on 
"  the  19th  of  the  llth  month,  being  the  5th  day  of  the  weeke, 
"Thursday"  (Mass.  Col.  Records,  i.,  187.)  But  the  19th  of 
January,  1636-7,  came  on  Tuesday.  Winthrop  (History,  I., 
213)  says  the  fast  was  kept  on  the  20th,  which  was  Wednesday. 
It  was  probably  kept  on  Thursday,  the  21st,  that  day  of 
the  week  being  usually  selected,  at  that  period,  for  such  occa- 
sions. The  date  placed  at  the  head  of  this  transcript  of  the 
discourse  was  probably  not  copied  from  the  original,  or  was  in- 
correctly copied. 

*  We  beg  to  add  to  these  works  one  which  the  Committee 
has  not  seen  fit  to  notice. — DAWSON'S  Life  and  Times  of  Anne 
Hutchinson,  published  in  New  York,  in  1856.— ED.  HIST.  MAG. 


II. 
SIR   NATHANIEL    RICH 

BY  JOHN    WARD   DEAN,    ESQJI., 
OF  BOSTON. 


SIR  NATHANIEL   RICH. 


I  have  received  from  Joseph  L.  Chester,  Esq., 
of  London,  England,  an  abstract  of  the  will  of 
Sir  Nathaniel  Rich,  who  was  prominent  in 
American  Colonial  enterprises.*  He  was 
knighted,  at  Hatton  House,  the  eighth  of  Novem- 
ber, 1617,  and  appears,  from  this  will  and  its 
probate,  to  have  died  in  November,  1636. 

There  is  little  doubt  that  he  was  the  Knight  of 
this  name  who  was  one  of  the  Plymouth  Com- 
pany to  whom  the  Patent,  on  the  third  of  No- 
vember, 1620,  was  granted  ;f  and  I  presume  he 
was  the  patriot  member  of  King  James  I.'s  third 
Parliament,  mentioned  by  Hume,$  for  Mr.  Ches- 
ter writes  me  that  he  has  found  but  one  Sir  Na- 
thaniel Rich  in  the  best  and  fullest  lists  of  the 
Knights  of  Elizabeth,  James  I.  and  Charles  I. 
Garrard,  writing  to  the  Earl  of  Strafford  con- 
cerning Sir  Henry  Vane's  emigration  to  New 
England,  says  :  "  I  hear  that  Sir  Nathaniel  Rich 
"  and  Mr.  Pym  have  done  him  much  hurt  in 
"  their  persuasions  that  way."§  In  1627,  Sir 

*  Calendar  of  British  State  Papers,  Colonial  Series,  vol. 
i.,  under  the  years  1623  to  1636. 

\  Hazard's  State  Papers,  i.,  106. 

t  History  of  England,  chap,  xlviii. 

I)  Stratford's  Letters,  1.,  463,  quoted  by  Forster  in  the  Lives 
of  Eminent  British  Statesmen,  (since  reprinted  under  the 
title  of  Statesmen  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England,)  vol. 
iv. 


Nathaniel  Rich  represented  Harwich  in  the  En- 
glish Parliament*. 

My  interest  in  this  person  arose  from  the  fact 
that  he  held  the  gift  of  the  living  of  Stondon 
Massey,  in  Essex,  where  Rev.  Nathaniel  Ward 
was  Rector,  and  probably  nominated  him  to  the 
Rectory,  as  he  certainly  did  his  successor,  Rev. 
Anthony  Sawbridge.  Perhaps  it  was  through 
his  influence  that  Mr.  Ward's  son,  John,  (after- 
wards minister  of  Haver  hill,  Mass.,)  was  presented 
to  the  Rectory  of  Hadleigh,  in  the  same  County, 
vacated  by  Rev.  Mr.  Sawbridge ;  which  living 
was  then  in  the  gift  of  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  a 
namesake  and  relative  of  Sir  Nathaniel,  and  his 
associate  in  Colonial  affairs,  whom  he  names  in 
his  will. 

As  the  will  contains  matters  of  interest  to 
American  readers,  I  think  the  subscribers  to  the 
HISTORICAL  MAGAZINE  will  be  gratified  to  see 
Mr.  Chester's  abstract  printed  in  full ;  and  I 
send  it  to  you  for  the  purpose.  Mr.  Chester 
thinks  that  Sir  Nathaniel's  nephew,  whom  he 
made  his  heir,  was  Colonel  Nathaniel  Rich,  the 
well-known  Parliamentary  officer. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  WILL  REFERRED  TO  ABOVE. 

Sir  Nathaniel  Rich,  Kt. ; — will  dated  2  Dec. 
1635 ; — appt.  sole  executor  the  Rt.  Hon.  the  Lord 
Mandevill,  and  desire  to  be  buried  in  the  parish 
church  of  Stondon  in  Essex,  a  monument  to  be 
erected  not  to  exceed  £50  or  100  marks  in  value; 
— my  sisters  and  brothers  in  law  and  their  chil- 
dren and  all  my  servants  to  have  mourning. 

I  give  my  manor  of  Stondon  and  all  my  lands 
in  Essex  to  my  nephew  Nathaniel  Riche,  when 

*  Davids's  Annals  of  Evangelical  Nonconformity  in  Es- 
sex, 141. 


3 


21,  in  the  meantime  my  Exors,  to  receive  the 
rents  &c  and  allow  him  £80  per  an.  for  his  edu- 
cation at  the  University  of  Cambridge,  and  then 
at  Lincoln's  Inn,  it  being  my  desire  that  he 
should  study  and  profess  the  law.  I  give  the 
profit  of  seven  of  my  shares  in  the  Barmudas, 
now  called  the  Soiner  Islands,  to  my  sister 
Grimsdiche  and  her  husband  for  their  lives,  if 
they  will  go  and  inhabit  upon  them,  and  £150  to 
transport  themselves  and  children.  I  give  one 
other  share  to  my  nephew  Robt.  Browne,  now 
residing  in  said  Somer  Islands,  he  having  one 
share  left  him  by  my  sister  Wroth, lately  deed.; 
— another  share  to  [blank],  another  son  of  my 
sister  Brown  deed.,  who  hath  been  hitherto  edu- 
cated by  my  noble  friend  the  Countess  of  Leices- 
ter, mother  to  Sir  John  Smith  ; — the  residue  of 
my  shares  there  I  give  for  the  maintenance  of  a 
free  school  in  those  islands  • — "my  desire  is  that 
some  of  the  Indian  children,  to  be  brought 
either  from  Virginia  or  New  England  or  some 
other  Continent  of  America,  such  as  my  Exor. 
'  shall  think  fittest,  may  be  brought  over  there  to 
'  be  instructed  in  the  knowledge  of  true  religion." 
— "  I  give  to  Nathaniel  Browne  now  in  New  En- 
'  gland  with  Mr.  Hooker  the  £200  which  by  my 
'  sister  Morgan's  will  was  bequeathed  unto  him, 
and  £50  more  as  my  own  gift,  which  £250  I 
'  would  have  Mr.  Hooker  employ  during  the 
'  minority  of  the  said  Nath1  Browne  for  and  to- 
'  wards  his  education"  ; — to  Samuel  Browne, 
another  son  of  my  said  sister  Browne  £100  to  be 
employed  for  him  during  his  minority; — my 
Rectory  of  Nevernein  Pembrokeshire  to  be  sold; 
to  Thos.  Grimsdich,  eldest  son  of  my  brother 
Grimsdich,  now  in  the  isle  of  Providence,  £40 
per  an.,  which  my  Lord  of  Warwick  is  to  pay 
during  his  life; — to  Thos.  Allaby  my  servant 


£100 ; — to  Jonas  Anger  £10  per  an.  for  life  out 
of  my  manor  of  Stondon ; — to  John  [blank]  my 
footman  £10  in  money  and  40  s.  per  an.  for  life ; 
— to  Mr.  Jesopp  I  have  given  £50  ; — to  my  noble 
Lord  of  Warwick  £500  as  a  testimony  of  my 
humble  affection  &c.; — to  my  Lord  the  Earl  of 
Holland  &  his  Lady,  each  £100 ; — to  my  Lady 
Essex  Cheeke  £50  ; — my  diamond  ring(my  sister 
Wrothe's  legacy)  I  give  to  my  brother  Wrothe ; — 
another  Emerald  ring  to  my  dear  &  most  vertu- 
ous  friend  Mrs.  Mary  Moore,  widow ; — to  Lady 
Mandevill,  an  annuity  of  £180 ; — my  library, 
books  &  papers  to  Lord  Mandevill ; — I  give  the 
Lady  Warwick's  picture  to  the  Lord  Rich  her 
son; — to  Mr.  Wharton,  minister  at  Felsted in  Es- 
sex £30  in  testimony  of  my  thankfulness  for  his 
care  in  the  education  of  my  nephew  Nathaniel 
Riche ; — "  to  my  dear  friend  Mr.  John  Pym  my 
"  best  gelding  and  a  ring  of  £20,  which  I  desire 
"him  to  wear  for  my  sake;" — to  my  cousin  Mrs. 
Martha  Willford  £20  for  a  ring. 

This  will  reaffirmed  and  declared  to  be  his  last 
will  &c  28  Oct.  1636. 

Codicil  dated  10  Nov.  1636 ; — to  my  servant 
Wm.  Jessopp  all  the  adventures  that  1  have  in 
the  stock  of  the  Company  of  Marchants  of  the 
City  of  London  trading  into  the  East  Indies,  also 
the  tenantcy  of  the  farm  in  Stondon  called 
Brook's  tenement ; — my  apparel  to  be  distributed 
among  said  Mr.  Thos.  Gnmsditch,  Thos.  Allaby 
&  Wm.  Jessopp. 

Proved  1  December  1636  by  Edward,  Viscount 
Mandevill,  the  Exor.  named. 


III. 

JOURNAL    OF 

LIEUT.     THOMAS     ANDERSON, 

OF   THE   DELAWARE    REGIMENT, 
1780-1782. 

From  the  Original  Manuscript  belonging  to  the  Mary- 
land  Historical   Society. 


ANDERSON    PAPERS. 


1780  Miles 

May       6th,  March'd  from  Wilmington  to 

Newark,  11, 

"          7th  March'd  to  the  Head  of  Elk,  7 

"  8th  Set  Sail  from  the  Head  of  Elk 
in  Company  With  50  Sail  of 
Vessels  being  the  Second  Mary- 
land Brigade  destined  for  Pe- 
tersburg in  Virginia  at  Which 
place  the  Sloop  I  was  in  ar- 
riv'd  On  the  23d  Sailing  in  all  350 
"  30  March'd  off  from  Petersburg 
and  Encampt  at  Rockaway 
Meeting  House  5 

"        31     March'd  to  Jones  Bridge  17 

June      I8t  March'd  to  Commissary  Lambs, 

Brunswick,  Co 

"         2d    March'd  to  Shorts  Ordinary 
June       3d   March'd  to  Stoney  Creek  18 

"         4th  March'd  to  Taylors  Ferry  On 
the  Roanoke  Crossed  and  En- 
campt On  the  its  Banks  8 
"         6    March'd  into  Granvill  County 

N  Carolina  18 

«          7     March'd  to  Genl  Parssons  10 

485 


July     25th,  This  day  Genl  Gates  took  Com- 
mand 
Aug     12th  March'd  this  day  and  lay  all 

night  On  our  arms  6 

"         13,    March'd  to  Rudgeleys  mill  16 

"        15     March'd  this  night  &  met  the 

enemy  7 

"  16  About  One  0,clock  in  the  morn- 
ing met  With  the  enemy  at 
Suttons  farm  and  drove  back 
their  advanced  guard  "We  then 
Halted  and  Formed  the  Line  of 
Battle  and  lay  On  Our  arms  Un- 
till  day  light  at  Which  time  the 
enemy  advanced  and  Charg'd 
Our  left  Wing  Where  the  mili- 
tia Was  formed  Who  give  Way 
Which  give  the  enemy  an  op- 
portunity of  turning  Our  left 
flank  &  got  in  Our  rear,  The 
action  Soon  became  desperate 
and  bloody  for  some  time  but 
We  Were  Obliged  at  last  to 
give  Way  With  the  loss  of  all 
Our  Artillery  &  Baggage  The 
loss  of  Our  Regiment  in  the 
action  Was  Lieut  Col  Vaughn, 
Major  Patten,  Captains  Sear- 
mouth,  &  Rhodes,  Lieuts  Pur- 
vis, Duff,  Skillington  &  Roche, 
With  Seventy  rank  &  file  Our 
marches  On  the  retreat  Such 
that  I  Can  give  no  particulars 
untill  We  arrived  at  Salisbury 
in  North  Carolina  On  the 
twenty  first  but  Computed 
them  at  123 


3 


Aug     24,    March;d  &  Cross'd  the  Yadkin 

river  at  the  old  trading  Ford  7 

March'd  from  thence  to  Guil- 
ford  Court  House  &  lay  a  few 
days  30 

March'd  from  thence  to  Hills- 
borough  Where  We  Came  up 
With  the  remains  of  Our  army 
With  Genl  Gates  45 

205 
793 

998 

Oct  7  This  day  there  Was  three  Com- 
pys  of  light  Infantry  Chosen  out 
of  army  the  first  Commanded  by 
Capt  Brewin  of  the  Virginia 
Line  the  Second  by  Capt  Kirk- 
wood  of  the  Delaware  in  Which 
I  served  as  Lieut,  the  third  by 
Capt  Brooks  of  the  Maryland- 
ers  and  the  Whole  by  Col 
Morgan 

"  8th  Began  Our  march  and  arrivd 

at  Salisbury  the  15  instant  95, 

(Here  I  Omit  3  marches  amount- 
ing in  miles  to,  41 

"  23d  March'd  to  Six  mile  Creek  and 
join'd  the  militia  under  the 
Command  of  Genl  Davidson  16 

"  25,  moved  Our  encampment  in  front 
of  the  militia  this  place  is 
Within  15  miles  of  Charlotte 
While  We  lay  at  this  place  Col 
Morgan  Reced  his  Commission 
as  Brigadier  from  Congress,  1 

1153, 


Nov  4,  This  day  Genl  Morgans  Light 
Infantry  With  Col  Washing- 
ton's Cavalry  March'd  down 
towards  Rudgeleys  Within  13 
miles  of  Camden  to  reconiter 
the  Enemy  and  return'd  to 
Camp  On  the  9th  Inst  March'd  100 

"  22d  This  day  the  Maryland  Division 
arrived  here, 

«  27  The  army  under  the  Comd  of 
Genl  Gates  march'd  to  Char- 
lotte to  Huts, 

"  28  Received  Orders  to  hold  our- 
selves in  readyness  to  March  at 
a  Moments  Warning  accord- 
ingly left  Our  tents  Standing 
With  all  our  Sick  behind  and 
March'd  to  12  Mile  Creek  This 
Creek  is  the  line  between  North 
&  Sonth  Carolina  from  thence 
We  March'd  to  the  Hanging 
Rock,  Where  the  -Infantry  re- 
main'd  Whilst  Col  Washington 
With  his  Cavalry  Went  down  to 
Col  Rudgely's  and  With  the  de- 
ception of  a  Pine  top  took  the 
Garrison  Consisting  of  One 
Coin,  One  Major,  three  Captains, 
four  Lieuts,  One  hundred  rank 
and  file,  From  thence  Return'd 
to  Camp  With  the  Prisoners  and  1253 
arrived  On  the  2nd  Decbr  100 

Deo  6th  Genl  Green  took  Command  of 
the  Southern  army  in  the  room 
of  Genl  Gates  Who  was  recall'd. 

"        17     march'd  to  Charlotte  15 

«  21'*  Was  join'd  With  two  Compys 
from  the  Maryland  line  Com- 


manded  by  Capt8  Dobson,  & 
Anderson  and  March'd  to  Big- 
gers  Ferry  On   the  Catawba 
river 
Dec      22d   Crossed  the  Kiver  and  march'd 


1447 

17  Before  day  Reced  Information 
that  Col  Tarlton  Was  Within 
Five  Miles  of  us  With  a  Strong 
Body  of  Horse  and  Infantry 
Whereon  We  got  up  and  put 
Ourselves  in  Order  of  Battle 
by  day  Light  they  Hove  in 
Sight  Halted  and  FornVd  the 
Line  in  Full  View  as  We  had 
no  artillery  to  annoy  them  and 
the  Genl  not  thinking  it  prn- 
dent  to  advance  from  the  ground 
We  had  form'd,  We  look'd  at 
each  other  for  a  Considerable 
time,  about  Sunrise  they  began 
the  attack  by  the  Discharge  of 
two  pieces  of  Cannon  and  three 
Huzzas  advancing  briskly  On 
ourriffelmen  that  Was  posted 
in  front  Who  Fought  Well  Dis- 
puting the  ground  that  Was 
between  them  and  us,  Flying 
from  One  tree  to  another  at  last 


being  forst  to  give  ground  they 
fell  back  in  Our  rear  the  Enemy 
Seeing  us  Standing  in  Such 
good  Order  Halted  for  Some 
time  to  dress  their  line  Which 
Outflanked  ours  Considerably 
The  then  advanced  On  boldly 
under  a  Very  heavy  fire  untill 
the  got  Within  a  few  yards  of 
us  but  their  line  Was  So  much 
longer  than  ours  the  turii'd  our 
Flanks  Which  Caused  us  to  fall 
back  Some  Disstance  The  Enemy 
thinking  that  We  Were  broke 
set  up  a  great  Shout  Charged 
us  With  their  bayonets  but  in 
no  Order  We  let  them  Come 
Within  ten  Or  fifteen  yards  of 
us  then  give  them  a  full  Volley 
and  at  the  Same  time  Charged 
them  home  They  not  expecting 
any  Such  thing  put  them  in 
Such  Confusion  that  We  Were 
in  amongst  them  With  the 
Bayonets  Which  Caused  them 
to  give  ground  and  at  last  to  take 
to  the  flight  But  We  followed 
them  up  so  Close  that  they 
never  Could  get  in  Order  again 
untill  We  Killed  and  took  the 
Whole  of  the  Infantry  Prison- 
ers, At  the  Same  time  that 
We  Charged,  Col  Washington 
Charged  the  horse  Which  Soon 
give  Way  We  followed  them 
ten  miles  but  not  being  able  to 
Come  up  With  them  Returned 
back  to  the  field  of  Battle  that 


night  and  lay  amongst  the  Dead 
&  Wounded  Very  Well  pleased 
With  Our  days  Work 
March  this  day  20 

1467 
1781 

Jany  18,  March7  d  off  With  the  prisoners 
for  the  Catawba  River  arrived 
at  it  On  the  23d  Inst  being,  100 

Febry  1st  The  Enemy  under  the  Cornd  of 
Earl  Cornwallis  Crossed  the 
River  below  Where  Genl  Da- 
vidson With  Some  of  the  South 
Carolina  Militia  Was  posted, 
Killed  the  Genl  and  Some  of 
the  men  Which  Caused  us  to 
March  for  Salisbury  for  fear 
that  the  Would  get  between  us 
and  our  army  Which  Was  on 
the  Way  for  Guilford  We  ar- 
riv'd  at  Co1  Locks  before  day 
every  step  being  up  to  our 
Knees  in  Mud  it  raining  On  us 
all  the  Way  30 

1597 

I  here  Omit  the  Journal  from 
Febry  1st  to  March  13th  Con- 
taining Some  interesting  par- 
ticulars &  going  over  marches 
to  the  amount  of  441  miles 
Which  added  to  1597  makes,  2038 

Febry   14,   March'd  Within  three  miles  of 

Guilford  Court  House,  8 

"  15,  Commenced  the  action  of  Guil- 
ford between  the  armys  Com- 
manded by  Genls  Green  &  Corn- 
wallis in  Which  a  number 


8 


Were  Killed  on  both  Sides 
Genl  Green  drew  off  his  army 
With  the  loss  of  all  his  artil- 
lery Out  of  our  two  Companies 
We  had  Lieut  Huffman  Killed 
&  Ensign  Vaughn  Wounded 
March'd  16 

Febry   16    March'd  to  Mr  James  Landers 

Farm  3 

"       19     Marched  to  Mr  Simmons  Farm,       6 
Here  I  omit  many  pages  and 
distances  to  the  number  of  964 
miles  and  begin  at  Ihe  end  of 
miles  of  marching  3035 

This  brings  the  Journal  to  the 
date  of  August  27th  1781 

Aug     27,    March'd  to  Capt  Howells  On 

the  Congaree  18 

"  28  This  day  March'd  to  Goodwins 
Farm  and  joind  Col  Washing- 
ton in  the  Evening  We  Were 
informed  that  the  Enemy  had 
left  Col  Thompsons  and  Were 
on  the  way  towards  Charles- 
town  5 
"  31"  March'd  to  Howells  Ferry 
Where  our  army  had  Cross'd, 
This  day  the  Genl  received  in- 
formation that  the  Enemy  had 
march'd  from  the  Center  Swamp 
On  their  route  for  Charlestown 
Which  Occasioned  the  Horse 
With  our  Infantry  to  return  to 
our  former  Quarters  12 

Sept,     4,     Crossed  the  Congaree  at  Cnl- 

SBppers  Ferry  and  Encamped 
n  Mr  Johnsons  Farm  15 


9 


Sept,     5       March'd  and  Encampt  With  the 

main  army  at  Everett's  Creek      14 
"       6th      March'd  to  half  way  Swamp         6 
"       7,        March'd  Within  Seven  Miles 
of  the  Eutaw  Springs  Where 
the  British  then  lay  Commanded 
by  Col  Stewart  20 

"  8  This  morning  Our  army  Was 
in  motion  before  day  light 
With  a  Determination  of  fight- 
ing We  march'd  in  the  follow- 
ing Order  Viz  The  South  and 
North  Carolina  Militia  in  front 
Commanded  by  Genls  Marion  & 
Pickins  having  Col  Lees  horse 
and  Infantry  On  their  Right 
Flank  and  the  State  Horse  and 
mounted  Infantry  On  their  left, 
The  Second  line  Was  Composed 
of  the  North  Carolina  Regulars, 
Virginia  and  Maryland  Troops 
having  two  three  pounders  be- 
tween the  North  Carolinians  & 
Virginians  and  two  Six  pound- 
ers between  the  Virginians  and 
Marylanders  Col  Washington's 
Horse  With  our  Infantry  Were 
the  Corps  de  reserve,  In  this 
order  We  march'd  down  to  ac- 
tion Coming  Within  three  miles 
of  the  enemy's  encampment  We 
Overtook  a  rooting  party  of  60 
men  returning  in  With  Potatos 
most  of  Whom  Were  either 
Killed  Or  taken  We  met  With 
no  furthur  opposition  until 
We  Came  Within  One  mile  of 
their  encampment  Where  their 


10 


front  line  Was  formed  We  soon 
brought  on  the  action  Genl  We 
drove  their  first  and  Second 
lines  took  upwards  of  500  pris- 
oners besides  300  they  left  dead 
On  the  field  of  action  The  enemy 
took  shelter  in  a  large  brick 
House  At  this  time  Our  men 
Were  so  far  spent  for  Want  of 
Water  and  Our  Continental  Of- 
fiers  Suffered  So  much  in  the 
action  rendered  it  advisable  to 
Genl  Green  to  draw  off  his 
troops  With  the  loss  of  two 
Six  pounders,  Major  Edmunds 
of  the  Virginians  joined  us  in 
the  British  Encampment  With 
a  Small  Number  of  Men  Keep- 
ing up  a  Smart  fire  for  a  Small 
Space  of  time  Finding  Our  3125, 
army  had  Withdrawn  made  it 
necessary  for  us  to  Withdraw 
likewise  We  brought  of*  One  of 
the  Enemys  three  pounders 
Which  Was  performed  With 
much  difficulty  thro  a  thick 
Wood  for  near  four  miles  With- 
out the  assistance  of  any  but 
one  horse  We  got  to  our  en- 
campment that  We  left  in  the 
morning  about  two  0,clock  in 
the  afternoon,  We  Were  Or- 
dered back  to  take  post  about 
One  mile  in  front  (march'd  this 
day  14 

Sept,   10th   Received  intelligence  that  the 


*  So  spelt  in  the  original. 


11 


Enemy  had  left  the  Eutaw 
Springs  the  night  before  and 
Was  on  their  Way  towards 
Monks  Corner  We  march'd  af- 
ter them  as  far  as  Mr.  Martin's 
Within  17  miles  of  the  Corner 
halted,  (march'd)  20 

Sept,   12      Returned  back  as  far  as  Whist- 
ling George's,  6 
"       13      March'd  to  Widow  Floods  On 

the  Santee  river,  14 

Sept,  14  March'd  With  the  army  to  the 
road  leading  to  Lawrences 
Ferry  On  the  Santee  river,  Left 
them  &  march'd  to  Mr  Cald- 
wells  farm  at  the  Half-Way 
Swamp  19 

3198 

[Here  I  omit  many  miles  of 
marching  He  &  Capt  Kirk- 
wood  appear  to  have  Set  out 
On  their  return  home  Febry 
11,1782,1  find  the  following 
entries  in  the  Journal  &  Cer- 
tain marches  on  their  return 
Which  I  omit  but  give  the  last 
of  the  entries  WA] 

1782 
Febry  10,    Our  Company  join'd  us 

"  11,  Capt  Kir  kwood  Set  out  With  us 
On  his  way  Home  to  the  State 
Lay  all  night  at  Genl  Parsons,  20 

"      12     March'd  to  Capt  Summervilles     25 

4342 
[With    the     Omisions     these 


12 


marches  bring  us  to  4342  miles 
WA] 

March  27,  March'd  to  Northumberland 
Court  House  When  there  Was 
a  Genl  Muster  of  the  Militia 
Went  a,board  of  a  boat  bound 
for  the  Head  of  Elk  Comd  by 
Capt  Brewer  in  the  Cone  river 
Sailed  down  to  the  mouth  of 
the  river  and  Went  ashore  at 
Mr  Croleys  16 

"  28  Made  Sail  after  night  With  a 
fair  Wind  got  near  Patuxent 
and  Was  drove  back  by  Con- 
trary Winds  into  the  Cone 
again  Went  to  Mr  Croleys 
Sailed  this  night,  30 

April  l§t  March'd  to  Yaucomoco  Went 
aboard  of  Mr  Mithaneys  Ferry 
Boat  Cross'd  the  Potomack  to 
Pine  Point  When  We  parted 
for  the  night  Capt  Kirkwood 
and  Lieut  Platt  Went  to  Parson 
Sebastains,  Lieut  Campbell  & 
myself  to  Mr  Crane's  State  of 
Maryland,  22 

"  2d  Cross'd  the  Patucksin  at  Jun- 
ipers Ferry  and  lay  all  night 
at  Mr  Summer  Villes,  25 

«      3d      March'd  to  Mr  Smiths  23 

"  4,  Cross'd  the  South  river  at 
Browns  ferry,  Came  to  Annap- 
olis after  night  put  up  at  Mr 
Middletons  Tavern, 

April  5  Cross'd  the  Severn  river  at  the 
Town  and  March'd  to  Balti- 
more Staid  at  Mr  Poes  Capt 
Hamiltons  quarters,  30 


13 


April,  7,  Went  aboard  of  the  Packet 
bound  for  the  Head  of  Elk  Com- 
manded by  Capt  Simpson  be- 
fore Night  landed  at  French 
town  march'd  to  Newark  Del 
state 


4513 


IV. 

THE       FCEDERALIST, 

No.    LXIII. 
THE    ORIGINAL    DRAFT,   BY    MR.   JAY. 


From  the  original  manuscript,  found  among  "  the  family  paper»  of 

Chief-Justice  Jay ;"  furnished  by  his  grandson,  John  Jay, 

Esq.,  of  the  Jay  Homestead,  to  the  Editor  of  Thi 

Fcedtraliit,  Edit.  Morrisania,  1864 ;  and 

subsequently  presented  to  the  New 

York  Historical  Society. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 


This  paper  will  interest  our  readers,  because 

FIRST:  It  will  illustrate  how  little  foundation,  in  fact,  there 
was  for  General  Alexander  Hamilton's  pretensions,  in  his  own 
copy  of  the  work  and  in  the  Benson  Manuscript,  that  HE  waa 
the  author  of  this  paper. 

SECOND  :  It  will  serve  to  illustrate  how  little  reason,  in  fact, 
Mr.  John  C.  Hamilton's  publisher  had,  when,  in  the  Prospectus 
of  The  Federalist,  "edited  by  John  C.  Hamilton,"  he  said, 
"  A  preliminary  Essay  will  leave  little  doubt  as  to  the  title  of 
"  Hamilton  to  the  Essays  designated  by  HIMSELF  as  his  own, 
"  by  the  hand  of  the  Editor  of  this  edition,  under  the  imme- 
"  diate  personal  direction  of  his  father." — American  Literary 
Gazette  and  Publishers'  Circular,  December  15,  1863. 

THIRD:  It  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  entire  correctness  of 
Henry  B.  Dawson,  the  Editor  of  The  Federalist,  when,  in  his 
published  Prospectus  for  the  Morrisania  edition  of  that  work, 
he  said,  "  In  the  preparation  of  this  edition  of  The  Federalist 
"  the  subscriber  has  been  favored  with  copies  of  the  family 
"  papers  relative  thereto  of  General  Hamilton  and  Chief- 
"  Justice  Jay  ;"  and  the  entire  incorrectness  of  Mr.  John  Jay, 
of  the  Jay  Homestead,  in  his  published  letter  to  Mr.  Henry  B. 
Dawson,  dated  February  14th,  1864,  when  he  asked,  while  con- 
troverting the  above,  "  What  family  papers  of  Jay  or  of  Ham- 
"  ilton,  touching  The  Federalist,  had  you  when  you  wrote  the 
"  Prospectus,  or  have  you  now  ?  I  GAVE  YOU  NONE  SUCH,  FOB 

"  THE  REASON  THAT  I  HAD  NONE  TO  GIVE." 

FOURTH  :  It  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  views  of  the  elder 
John  Jay  concerning  some  features  of  the  Republic  and  some 
of  the  provisions  of  its  Constitution  ;  while  it  will  serve,  also, 
to  illustrate  how  far  the  present  generation  have  wandered 
from  the  paths  of  the  Fathers,  and  how  much  confidence  can 
be  safely  reposed  in  its  teachings. — HENRY  B.  DAWSON. 


THE   FCEDERALIST, 

No.   LXIII. 


It  is  unhappily  the  law  both  with  Respect  to 
Measures  and  to  Persons  that  their  opponents 
seldom  confine  their  Censures  to  such  things  only 
as  are  worthy  of  Blame — unless  on  this  Principle 
it  is  difficult  to  account  for  the  Conduct  of  those 
who  condemn  the  proposed  Constitution  in  the 
aggregate,  and  treat  with  Severity  some  of  the 
most  unexceptionable  articles  in  it — 

The  2  Sec.  gives  Power  to  the  President 
"  by  and  with  ye  Advice  and  consent  of  the  Sen- 
"  ate  to  make  Treaties  provided  two  thirds  of  the 
"  Senators  present  concur — 

The  power  of  making  Treaties  is  unquestiona- 
bly a  very  important  one,  especially  as  it  relates 
to  War  Peace  &  commerce,  and  should  not  be 
delegated,*  without  such  precautions  [in  the  mode 
of  constituting  themrf]  as  that  the  Nation  may 
have  the  highest  Security  wh  the  Nature  of 
the  Case  will  admit  of,  that  it  will  be 
exercised  by  men  the  best  qualified  for  the 


*  The  word  "  delegated  "  is  interlined  over  the  words,  •'  vested 
"  in  any  man  or  Body  of  Men,"  erased.  The  importance  of 
this  change  in  Mr.  Jay'g  mind,  concerning  the  status  of  the 
proposed  "  Congress  of  the  United  States,"  and  concerning  the 
character  of  its  authority,  will  not  be  lost  sight  of  by  the  care- 
ful reader.— ED.  HIST.  MAO. 

h  The  words  in  Italics  were  subsequently  erased.— ED.  HIBT. 
MAO. 


6 

purpose,  and  in  the  Manner  most  conducive 
to  the  public  good —  The  framers  of  the  con- 
stitution appear  to  have  been  [particularly]* 
attentive  to  both  these  Points.  They  have  di- 
rected the  President  to  be  chosen  by  select  bodies 
of  Electors  to  be  convened  for  that  express  pur- 
pose, and  have  referred  the  appointment  of  Sen- 
ators to  the  State  Legislatures. 

This  mode  has,  in  such  Cases,  vastly  the  ad- 
vantage of  Elections  by  the  People  in  their  col- 
lective Capacity,  where  the  activity  of  Party  Zeal 
taking  advantage  of  the  Supiness  the  Ignorance 
the  Hopes  and  the  Fears  of  the  unwary  &  inter- 
ested! frequently  places  Men  in  Office  by  the 
Votes  of  a  small  Proportion  of  the  Electors,  [and 
Men  too  with  whom  the  great  body  of  Electors 
have  not  always  Reason  to  Tie  satisfied — ]$ 

as  the  State  Electors  for  President  as  well  as 
the  State  Legislatures,  will  in  general  be  com- 
posed of  the  most  enlightened  and  respectable 
Citizens,  there  is  [the  highest]^  Reason  to  pre- 
sume that  their  appointments  to  these  [^m&£]|| 
national  offices  will  be  [<&seree£]l[  judicious,  or  in 
other  Words  that  the  Federal**  President  &  Sena- 

*  The  subsequent  erasure  of  the  word  "particularly"  indi- 
cates very  clearly  the  limited  respect  which  Mr.  Jay  had  for 
"  the  proposed  Constitution  ;"  and  it  will  be  yet  more  apparent 
when  the  four  preceding  words — "  appear  to  hare  been  " — are 
read  in  the  same  connection. — ED.  HIST.  HAG. 

t  This  sentence  originally  read — "  in  their  collective  Capaci 
"  ty>  where  the  Supiness  of  many  and  the  activity  of  Party 
"  Zeal  operating  on  the  Ignorance  the  Hopes  and  the  Fears  of 
"Men."— ED.  HIST.  MAO. 

t  The  words  in  Italics  were  subsequently  erased. — ED.  HIST. 
MAO. 

<)  These  words  were  subsequently  erased. — ED,  HIST.  MAO. 

II  Subsequently  erased. — ED.  HIST.  MAO. 

U  Erased. — ED.  HIST.  MAO. 

**  The  word  "  Federal "  interlined — the  importance  of  which, 
as  an  after-thought  of  the  writer,  will  not  be  lost  sight  of  by 
the  careful  students  of  his  character  and  opinions. — ED.  HIST. 
MAO. 


tors  [so  chosen]*  will  be  men  who  had  become 
eminently  distinguished  by  their  Virtue  and  Tal- 
ents— nay  so  exceedingly  cautious  and  attentive 
were  in  Convention  in  providing  for  this  object, 
that  by  excluding  Men  und  35  from  the  first  of- 
fice, and  under  30  from  the  second,  they  have 
confined  the  Electors  to  Men  of  whom  the  People 
have  had  Experience,  and  with  Respect  to  whom 
they  will  be  in  no  Danger  of  being  deceived  by 
those  brilliant  appearances  of  Genius  and  Pa- 
triotism which  like  transient  Meteors  sometimes 
mislead  as  well  as  dazzle — 

From  the  manner  in  which  they  are  to  be  ap- 
pointed it  is  reasonable  to  infer  that  the  power 
of  making  Treaties  will  be  exercised  by  [the 
most]\  able  and  honest  Men  [to  be  found  in  the 
Country,  U.  S.]$  for  if  the  observation  be  just 
that  wise  Kings  will  always  be  served  by  able$ 
Ministers,  it  is  natural  to  presume  that  as  an 
assembly  of  select  Electors  possess  in  a  higher 
Degree  than  Kings  the  means  of  extensive  and 
accurate  Information  relative  to  Men  [$•  tfieirlll 
Characters,  so  hi  the  same  Degree  will  their 
appointments  be  in  general  more  discreet,  and 
judicious. 

The  Presid4  &  Senra^[  so  chosen  will  doubtless 
be  of  the  number  of  those  in  each  State  who  best 


*  Subsequently  erased. — ED.  HIST.  MAO. 

t  The  words  in  Italics  were  subsequently  erased. — ED.  HIST. 
MAO. 

$  It  is  evident  from  the  style  of  the  erasure  that  Mr.  Jay  first 
erased  the  word  "  Country  "  and  substituted  for  it  the  initials 
of  the  United  States ;  and  that  he  subsequently  erased  the 
amendment,  together  with  the  fire  preceding  words,  as  indi- 
cated by  the  Italics.— ED.  HIST.  MAO. 

$  The  word  "  able  "  written  over  "  wise,"  erased. — ED.  HIST. 
MAO. 

II  Erased.— ED.  HIST.  MAO. 

TT  The  preceding  words  of  this  paragraph  were  interlined 
over  the  words  "Such  men,"  erased. — ED.  HIST.  MAO. 


8 

understand  its  Interests,  whether  considered  in 
Relation  to  the  other  States  or  to  foreign  Na- 
tions ;#  and  we  must  suppose  that  the  members 
from  each  State  however  well  disposed  to  pro- 
mote the  general  good  of  the  whole,  will  yet  be 
still  more  Strongly  disposed  to  promote  that  of 
their  immediate  Constituents — 

altho  the  absolute  Necessity  of  System  in  the 
conduct  of  any  Business  is  universally  known  & 
acknowledged,  yet  the  high  Importance  of  it  in 
national  affairs  has  not  yet  become  sufficiently 
impressed  on  the  public  mind.  They  who  wish 
to  commit  the  power  under  Consideration  to  a 
popular  assembly  composed  of  Members  con- 
stantly coming  and  going  in  quick  Succession, 
seem  not  to  recollectf  that  such  a  Body  must 
necessarily  be  inadequate  to  the  Attainm*  of 
those  great  objects  which  require  to  be  steadily 
contemplated  in  their  various  Relations  and  Cir- 
cumstances, and  which  can  only  be  approached 
and  atchieved  by  Measures  which  not  only  Tal- 
ents but  accurate  Information  &  often  much 
lime  are  necessary  to  concert  and  to  execute 

It  was  wise  therefore  in  the  Convention  to  pro- 

*  In  revising  this  paragraph  for  the  Press,  Mr.  Jay  seems  to 
have  entirely  changed  his  views  and  thus  expressed  them  in 
their  revised  form :  "  The  inference  which  naturally  results 
'  from  these  considerations  is  this,  the  President  and  Senators 
'  so  chosen  will  always  be  of  the  number  of  those  who  best  un- 
'derstand  our  National  Interests,  whether  considered  in  re- 
'  lation  to  the  several  States  or  to  foreign  Nations,  who  are 
'  best  able  to  promote  those  interests,  and  whose  reputation 
'  for  integrity  inspires  and  merits  confidence." — Federalist, 
No.  LXIII.— Ed.  Morrisania,  1864,  i.,  447. 

May  we  not  hope  to  receive,  from  some  one  who  knows  all 
about  Mr.  Jay,  the  information  which  will  enable  us  to  judge 
whether  or  not  this  change  was  effected  by  his  intercourse  with 
Messrs.  Hamilton  and  Madison — his  associates  in  The  Federal- 
ist— rather  than  from  his  owu,  unassisted  "  sober  second- 
"  thought." — ED.  HIST.  MAO. 

t  The  words  "to  recollect"  are  written  over  "to  be  ap- 
"  prized,"  erased.— ED.  HIST.  MAO. 


9 

vide  not  only  that  this  power  shd  be  exercised  by 
the  ablest  men,  but  also  that  they  should  con- 
tinue in  Place  a  sufficient  Time  to  become  well 
acquainted  with  our  national  Concerns,  and  to 
form  and  introduce  a  System  for  the  Manage- 
ment of  them —  by  this  Provision  they  will  be 
in  Capacity  to  make  daily  additions  to  their  Stock 
of  political  Information  and  be  enabled  by  ex- 
perience to  render  it  more  &  more  beneficial  to 
the  Country — nor  did  the  Convention  manifest 
less  prudence  in  so  prescribing  for  the  frequent 
Election  of  Senators*  in  such  a  way  as  to  obvi- 
ate the  Inconvenience  of  periodically  committing 
those  great  affairs  to  new  Men  unacquainted  with 
their  exact  Situation  &  circumstances,  forf  by 
leaving  a  considerable  Residue  of  the  old  ones  in 
place  uniformity  and  order  as  well  a  constant 
Succession  of  Information  from  the  first  to  the 
latter  Members,  will  be  preserved — 

It  will  not  be  denied  that  the  affairs  of  Trade 
and  Navigation  should  be  regulated  by  a  System 


*  The  words  "in  so  prescribing  for  the  frequent  Election  of 
"  Senators  "  are  written  over  the  following  words,  erased,  "  in 
"  directing  the  manner  prescribed  for  periodical  Recall  of  a 
"  certain  Proportion  of  the  Senators — for  thereby  the  Right  & 
"  Expediency  of  frequent  Elections  are  secured  to  the  People. 

The  careful  student  will  readily  perceive  from  the  above,  the 
drift  of  Mr.  Jay's  mind  concerning  the  tenure  of  the  Senatorial 
office,  under '•  the  proposed  Constitution" — Envoys,  even  or- 
dinary agents,  are  sometimes  "  Recalled  *'  by  their  Principals, 
Sovereign  or  Subject :  who  has  ever  heard  of  the  "  Recall "  of 
a  Sovereign,  such  as  the  Senate  has  more  recently  assumed  to 
be,  by  a  "  People  "  who,  in  that  case,  could  have  been  only  his 
Subjects  ?  He  will  perceive,  also,  that  Mr.  Jay  saw  no  differ- 
ence, in  fact,  between  a  direct  Election  by  "  the  People,"  and 
an  Election  by  the  Legislature,  as  its  Agent  and  Representative. 
He  speaks,  therefore,  of  "  the  frequent  Election  of  Senators,"  as 
by  "  the  People,"  itself,  notwithstanding  "  the  People,"  in 
proper  person,  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  such  elections. — 
ED.  HIST.  MAO. 

t  The  word  "for"  is  interlined  over  "  but  on  ye  contrary," 
erased.— ED.  HIST.  MAG. 


10 

wisely  formed  and  steadily  pursued —  It  is  also 
well  known  that  whatever  may  be  the  System  our 
Treaties  with  foreign  Nations  as  well  as  our 
Laws  on  the  Subject  shd  be  conformable  to  it — 
It  is  highly  important  therefore  that  this  con- 
formity shd  be  preserved;  and  the  Convention 
by  making  the  Concurrence*  of  the  Senate  ne- 
cessary to  both  have  taken  effectual  Care  that 
our  Treaties  &  our  Laws  shall  always  harmonize 
and  unite  in  promoting  the  attainment  of  the  same 
national!  objects — 

Let  it  also  be  remembered  that  in  forming 
Treaties  of  Peace  and  [Treaties]^  of  Commerce  & 
particnlary  the  former,  it  often  happens  that 
perfect  Secrecy  and  immediate^  Dispatch  are  re- 
quisite There  are  Cases  when  the  most  useful|| 
Intelligence  may  be  obtained  provided  the  Par- 
ties possessing  &  conveying  it  have  no  Reason  to 
apprehend  a  Discovery — whether  those  Parties 
be  influenced  by  mercenary  or  by  friendly  Mo- 
tives will  make  but  little  Difference,  for  in  either 
Case  a  Discovery  might  be  equally  fatal  to  them — 
It  is  not  rash  to  presume  that  there  are  many  of 
both  Descriptions  who  would  rely  on  the  Secrecy 
of  the  President,  but  who  would  not  confide  in 
that  of  the  Senate,  and  still  less  in  that  of  a  large 
popular  Assembly —  The  Convention  have  done 
well  therefore  in  so  disposing  of  this  power  of 

*  The  last  eight  words  originally  read  as  follows — "  pre- 
"  served — Of  this  the  Convention  appears  to  have  been  ap- 
"  prized,  for  by  making  the  Concurrence  "  etc. — ED.  HIST. 
MAO. 

t  The  word  "national"  written  over  "  interesting,"  erased. 
— ED.  HIST.  MAO. 

t  Erased.— ED.  HIST.  MAO. 

4  "Immediate  "  is  written  over  "  great,"  erased. — ED.  HIST. 
MAO. 

II  The  words  "  the  most  useful  "  are  interlined,  evidently  to 
take  the  place  of  "  of  great  Importance  "  which  originally  fol- 
lowed "  Intelligence,"  and  were  erased. — ED.  HIST.  MAG. 


11 

making  Treaties,  as  that  altho  the  president  must 
in  forming  them  act  by  the  Advice  and  Con- 
sent of  the  Senate  ;#  yet  he  will  be  able  to  man- 
age all  affairs  of  secret  Intelligence  in  the  Way 
which  Prudence  and  Circumstances  may  suggest — 
The  Propriety  of  these  Remarks  might  be  illus- 
trated by  Facts  well  known  to  many  but  which 
it  would  not  be  advisable  to  render  more  public. 

They  who  have  turned  their  attention  to  the 
Affairs  of  men  well  know  that  there  are  Tides 
in  them — Tides  exceedingly  irregular  in  their 
Duration,!  Strength  and  Direction,  and  seldom 
found  to  run  twice  exactly  in  the  same  manner 
and  measure.  To  Discern^  and  profit  by  these 
Tides  in  national  affairs,  is  the  Business  of  those 
Politicians  who  preside  over  them$ — in  doing 
this  Days  and  even  Hours  are  often  precious,  and 
Despatch  indispensable — The  intervening  Death 
of  a  Prince,  the  removal  of  a  Minister,  in  short 
the  least  change  in  the  present  posture  of  affairs 
may  give  a  favorable  Tide  an  opposite  Course.ll 

as  in  the  Field  so  in  the  Cabinet  there  are 
moments  to  be  seized  as  they  pass  ;  neither  our 
Governors  or  our  Generals  should  be  restrained 
from  improving  them^f — we  have  in  more  In- 


*  In  the  sentence  "  altho  the  president  must  in  forming 
"  them  act  by  the  the  Advice,"  etc.,  the  words  in  Italics  are  in- 
terlined over  "is  restrained  by,"  erased. — ED.  HIST.  MAO. 

t  Originally  "is  a  Tide  in  them — a  Tide  exceedingly  irreg- 
ular in  its  Duration,"  etc. — ED.  HIST.  MAO. 

t  "  Discern"  interlined  over  "  observe,''  erased.— ED.  HIST. 
MAO. 

Q''Them"  interlined  over  "nations,"  erased. — ED.  HIST. 
MAO. 

II  The  words  "  give  a  favorable  Tide  an  opposite  Course  "  are 
interlined  over  "  terminate  this  Tide  forever." — ED.  HIST.  MAO. 

IT  This  sentence  originally  read  thus : — "seized  as  they  pass  ; 
"  and  in  such  Cases  consequently  the  Power  of  improving 
"  such  fortunate  Seasons,  should  no  General  should  not  be 
•'  restrained  from  improving  them."  The  words  in  Italics 
were  subsequently  erased. — ED.  HIST.  MAO. 


12 

stances  than  one,  suffered  exceedingly  from  the  De- 
lays inseparable  from  our  present  Gov*  and  we 
have  much  Reason  to  rejoice  that  the  proposed 
Constitution  has  so  well  provided  ag'  them — for 
many  preparatory  and  collateral  Measures  rela- 
tive to  Negociations  may  be  taken  by  the  Presi- 
dent and  when  such  as  require  the  Concurrence 
of  the  Senate  occur,  he  may  at  any  time  convene 
them — Thus  does  the  constitution  give  to  the 
formation  of  Treaties  all  the  disadvantages  of 
Secy  and  Despatch  on  the  one  Hand  and  of  de- 
liberate Council  on  the  other — 

But  to  this  Plan  as  to  all  others  that  have  ever 
appeared  in  the  World,  [without  excepting  even 
those  which  descended  from  heaven]*  objections 
have  been  contrived  and  urged. 

Some  object  because  the  Treaties  so  made  are  to 
have  the  Force  of  Laws,  and  therefore  that  the 
Makers  of  them  will  so  far  have  legislative 
power  This  objection  is  a  mere  play  on  the 
word  legislative  Is  not  the  Commission  of  the 
King  of  Great  Britain  to  a  Judge  or  a  general 
as  valid  in  Law  and  as  obligatory  on  all  whom 
it  may  concern,  as  if  the  Judge  or  the  General 
had  been  commissioned  by  Act  of  Parliament? 
If  the  People  from  whom  only  civil  Power  can 
be  derived  think  it  expedient  by  their  Constitu- 
tion to  give  to  a  King  the  power  of  issuing  such 
Commissions,  they  must  be  as  much  bound  by 
such  royal  acts,  as  they  are  by  those  acts  which 
they  authorize  their  Legislature  to  pass.f 

[The  People  of  america  knowing  that  they  would 
have  occasion  to  make  Treaties  or  Bargains  with 


*  The  words  in  Italics  were  subsequently  erased. — ED.  HIST. 
MAO. 

t  In  the  published  Essay  the  reference  was  changed  from  the 
King  of  Great  Britain  to  the  Governor  of  New  York. — ED. 
HIST.  MAO. 


13 

other  Nations  appoint  certain  men  in  their  Name 
to  make  those  Bargains  for  them — again  the 
People  of  america  knowing  that  Laws  regulating 
their  general  affairs  would  be  necessary,  think 
proper  to  appoint  certain  otJier  Men  to  make  such 
Laws  then — surely  in  the  one  Case  as  in  the  other 
the  acts  of  these  Men  must  have  equall\* 

Whatever  name  therefore  be  given  to  the  obli- 
gation of  Treaties  or  whether  the  making 
them  be  called  the  Exercise  of  legislative  or  any 
other  kind  of  authority  certain  it  is  that  the 
people  have  a  Right  to  dispose  of  the  power  to 
make  them  as  they  think  expedient — &  when 
made  conformably  to  the  power  delegated  must 
be  valid  and  inviolable 

Others  seem  uneasy  that  Treaties  are  to  be  the 
sup.f  Laws  of  the  Land.  It  is  not  easy  even  to 
suspect  Gentlemen  of  being  serious  when  they 
profess  to  believe  and  insist  that  Treaties  like 
acts  of  assembly  should  be  repealable  at  our 
will  &  pleasure — a  Treaty  is  only  another 
name  for  a  Bargain  or  a  Contract,  and  have 
no  Reason:):  to  expect  or  hope  that  any  Na- 
tion or  any  private  Man  of  Common  Sense 
can  be  found,  who  would  consent  to  make  any 
bargain  with  us  which  so  far  from  being  mutu- 
ally binding,  should  by  us  be  carved,  and  con- 
strued, extended,  contracted  or  annulled  just  as 
[the  Wisdom  or  Convenience  of§]  our  Legislature 
or  Legislatures  might  think  most  convenient 
and  advantageous. 


*  This  entire  paragraph  was  subsequently  erased.— ED.  HIST. 
MAG. 

t  Supreme. — ED.  HIST.  MAO. 

t  Originally,  "  and  have  we  any  Reason,"  etc. — ED.  HIST. 
MAG. 

<)  The  words  in  Italics  were  subsequently  erased. — ED.  HIST. 
MAO. 


14 

They  who  make  Laws  may  without  doubt 
repeal  them  and  it  is  equally  true  that  they  who 
make  Treaties  may  alter  or  annul  them — but  we 
are  not  to  forget  that  Treaties  are  made  not  by 
one  of  the  contracting  Parties  but  by  both,  and 
consequently  that  as  the  Consent  of  both  was 
essential  to  make  them  at  first,  so  must  it  ever 
afterwards  be  to  alter  or  cancel  them — *  The 
proposed  constitution  therefore  has  not  in  the 
least  extended  the  obligation  of  Treaties — they 
are  just  as  binding  and  just  as  far  beyond  the 
lawful  Reach  of  legislative  acts  now  as  they  will 
be  at  any  future  period  or  under  future  Gov'f 

Altho  now  useful  Jealousy  may  be  a  republics 
Qualification  (virtue  it  never  was  nor  will  be)  yet 
when  like  Bile  in  the  natural  too  much  in  the 
Body  politic,  the  Eyes  of  become  very  liable  to 
be  deceived  by  the  delusive  appearances  which 
that  Malady  gives  to  surrounding  ObjectsJ — 

Will  the  President  and  Senate  make  Treaties 
with  an  equal  Eye  to  the  Interests  of  all  the 
States — will  not  the  two  thirds  often  be  tempted 
to  oppress  the  remaining  third  — [will  not  the 
Influence  of  the  eastern  fy  middle  States  generally 
preponderate  in  that  Body]$  are  these  Gent,  made 


*  The  latter  part  of  this  sentence  was  originally  In  these 
words : — "  But  we  are  not  to  forget  that  Treaties  are  made  not 
"  by  one  of  the  contracting  Parties  but  by  both,  and  conse- 
"quently  the  same  Consent  of  both  to  make  them  at  first,  will 
"forever  afterwards  be  necessary  to  alter  or  cancel  them." — 
ED.  HIST.  MAO. 

t  The  latter  part  of  this  sentence  was  originally  in  these 
words: — "  They  were  just  as  binding  and  just  as  far  beyond 
"  the  Reach  of  legislative  acts  before  the  Convention  convened 
"  now  as  they  will  be  at  any  period  or  any  Govt  whatever." 
— ED.  HIST.  MAO. 

t  This  sentence  was  evidently  constructed  with  great  diffi- 
culty ;  but  the  erasures  and  interlineations  are  so  many  and  so 
disconnected  that  nothing  can  be  done  with  them. — ED.  HIST. 
MAG. 

t>  Subsequently  erased. — ED.  HIST.  HAG. 


15 

sufficiently  responsible  for  their  Conduct  ?  if  they 
act  corruptly  can  they  be  punished  ?  and  if  they 
make  disadvantageous  Treaties  can  we  get  rid  of 
such  Treaties — [27iese  and  similar  Questions  are 
may  be  answered  with  as  much  It  is  easy  to  ask 
Questions,  and  objections  put  into  the  form  of 
Questions,  is  as  easy  a  TFoz/]* 

Such  questions  really  betray  an  undue  Degree 
of  Jealousy  every  objection  to  the  foederal  Con- 
stitutionf  wh  they  imply  may  at  least  with  equal 
force  be  applied  to  that  of  this  State. 

Will  the  Govr  &  Legislature  of  New  York 
make  Laws  with  an  equal  Eye  to  the  Interests  of 
all  the  Counties — will  not  the  majority  often 
oppress  the  minority.  are  these  Gentlemen 
made  sufficiently  responsible  for  their  Conduct — 
if  they  act  corruptly  can  they  be  punished — and 
if  the  commissioners  make  disadvantageous 
Treaties  [with  the  Indians]^  or  Bargains  with 
the  Indians  or  others  can  we  get  rid  of  them — 

as  all  the  States  are  represented  equally  in  the 
senate  which  is  to  vote  per  Capita,  they  will  all 


*  Subsequently  erased. — ED.  HIST.  MAO. 

t  The  words  "  foederal  Constitution  "  in  this  portion  of  the 
original  Manuscript  is  peculiarly  interesting  in  view  of  the 
persistent  efforts  which  have  been  made  by  John  C.  Hamilton, 
George  T.  Curtis,  and  John  J;iy  to  impeach  the  integrity  of 
The  Federalist,  edited  by  Henry  B.  Dawson,  on  account  of  its 
rendering  of  the  word  "  Federalist "  after  the  manner  of  the 
authors  of  that  work  ;  and  it  effectually  disposes,  if  such  addi- 
tional testimony  wai  actually  necessary,  of  their  unsupported 
denials  that  "  PUBLIUS,"  the  distinguished  authors  of  that  work, 
thus  spelled  the  word,  and  thus  openly  recognized  the  Union 
as  "  a  firm  League  of  friendship,"  and  its  Constitution  as  sup- 
plementary rather  than  subversive  of  the  Articles  of  Confed- 
eration and  Perpetual  Union. 

John  Jay  the  elder,  it  will  be  seen,  considered  the  Constitu- 
tion for  the  United  States  a  "  federal  Constitution  ":  John 
Jay  the  younger,  and  those  who  have  acted  with  him,  may 
safely  read  his  teachings,  and  having  learned  the  truth  on  this 
subject,  follow  his  example,  by  telling  it. — ED.  HIST.  MAO. 

t  Erased.— ED.  HIST.  MAG. 


16 

have  an  equal  Degree  of  Influence  there,  espe- 
cially if  they  are  careful  to  appoint  \their  best 
men]*  proper  persons  to  that  Body,  ana  insist  on 
their  punctual  attendance.  In  Proportion  as  the 
united  States  assume  a  national  Form  and  a 
national  Character,  so  will  the  good  of  the  whole 
become  more  and  more  an  object  of  attention ; 
and  the  Gov1  must  be  a  weake  one  indeed  if  it 
should  forget  that  the  good  of  the  whole  [can 
only  consist  of  the  combined]*  cannot  be  promoted 
without  attending  to  the  good  of  each  of  the 
parts  or  Members  which  compose  the  whole.  It 
will  not  be  in  the  power  of  the  President  and 
Senate  to  form  any  Treaty  by  which  they  &  their 
Estates  and  Families  will  not  be  equally  bound 
and  affected  with  Rest  of  the  Community,  and  hav- 
ing no  private  interest  distinct  from  that  of  the 
Nation  they  will  be  under  no  temptations  to 
neglect  the  latter — 

as  to  corruption  the  Case  is  not  supposable — a 
man  must  either  have  been  very  unfortunate  in 
his  Intercourse  with  the  world,  or  possess  a 
Heart  very  susceptible  of  such  Impressions  :  who 
can  think  it  probable  that  the  President  and 
two-thirds  of  the  Senate  will  ever  be  capable  of 
such  unworthy  Conduct —  The  Idea  is  too  gross 

and  too  black  to  be  entertained But  even 

in  such  a  Case  if  it  shd  ever  happen  the  Treaty  so 
obtained  from  us  would  like  all  other  fraudulent 
Contracts  be  null  and  void  by  the  Law  of  Na- 
tions— 

With  Respect  to  the  Responsibility  of  the 
President  and  Senate,  it  is  difficult  to  conceive 
how  it  could  be  increased —  Every  Consideration 
that  can  influence  the  human  mind,  such  as 
Honor,  oaths,  Reputation,  the  Love  of  Country, 

*  Erased.— KB.  HIST.  MAO. 


17 

and  domestic  affection  &  attachments  [insure}* 
afford  Security  for  their  Fidelity — 

as  the  Constitution  has  provided  that  they  shall 
be  Men  of  Talents  and  Integrity  we  have  good 
Keason  to  be  persuaded  that  the  Treaties  they 
make  will  be  as  advantageous  as  all  Circumstan- 
ces considered  could  be  expected —  [Besides  such 
Individuals  among  them  as  may  now]*  and  so  far 
as  the  Fear  of  Punishment  and  Disgrace  can 
operate,  that  motive  to  good  Behaviour  is  amply 
supplied  and  afforded  by  the  article  on  the  Sub- 
ject of  Empeachments 

[In  short  no  Plan  If  Talent  and  Integrity,  if 
political  Information  respecting  the  State  of  things 
at  Home  and  abroad,  if  Secrecy  fy  Dispatch  and 
the  benefit  of  joint  Counsels  be  desirable]* 

In  short  as  this  Plan  appears  at  least  in  The- 
ory to  have  greatly  the  advantage  of  any  that 
has  yet  appeared  it  certainly  merits  a  fair  Trial. 

*  Erased. — ED.  HIST.  MAO. 


V. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR   A 

CONSTITUTION 

FOR    THE 

STATE  OF  NEW  YORK. 
BY  EGBERT  BENSON  AND  Rurus  KING. 

From  the  original  manuscript  in  the  possession  of  M.  M. 
Jones,  Esq.,  of  Utica,  N.  Y. 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR  A 

CONSTITUTION 

FOR    THE 

STATE  OF  NEW  YORK  * 


1.  That  the  exception  of  Murder  out  of  the 
general  Power  to  the  Governor  to  grant  pardons 
to  persons  convicted  of  crimes  shall  cease 

2.  That  the  Article  in  the  Constitution  whereby 
Ministers  of  the  Gospel  or  priests  of  any  denomi- 
nation may  not  hold  any  civil  or  military  office 
shall  cease — 

3.  That  the  office  of  Lieutenant  Governor  shall 
cease  and  the  Senate  shall  choose  their  own 
Speaker — 

4.  That  in  case  of  vacancy  of  the  Office  of 
Governor  the  Legislature  shall  forthwith  convene 
[in  suc?i  manner  as  shall  be  provided  for  by  law] 
and  a  quoram  of  both  houses  appearing,  they 
shall  form  themselves  into  a  joint  meeting  and 
having  adjudged  that  a  vacancy  has  happened 
they  shall  proceed  to  elect  by  Plurality  of  Votes, 
by  Ballot,  a   Governor   for  the  residue  of  the 

*  In  the  original,  the  body  of  the  paper  is  in  Mr.  Benson's 
hand-writing,  while  Mr.  King's  suggestions  are  interlined.  In 
this  copy,  the  latter  are  in  Italics  and  enclosed  in  brackets. — 
ED.  HIST.  MACK 


period  for  which  the  Governor  last  in  office  was 
elected 

5.  That  every  Male  Citizen  of  the  United  States 
of  full  age  resident  within  this  State,  and  who 
shall  have  had  his  home  or  place  of  abode  in  the 
town,  ward  or  other  place  where  the  election 
shall  be  held  for  the  space  of  one  whole  year 
[Eleven   Calendar  months]  immediately  preced- 
ing it  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  every  election 
for  public  officers  within  this  State — 

6.  That  the  Governor  shall  be  elected  for  four 
years — 

7.  That  the  provision  in  the  Constitution  for 
dividing  the  Members  of  the  Senate  into  Classes 
shall  cease,  and  the  Seats  of  all  the  Members 
shall  become  vacant  on  the  same  day  in  every 
fourth  year — 

8.  That  the  Members  of  the  Assembly  shall  be 
elected  for  two  years — 

9.  That  it  shall  always  be  in  the  discretion  of 
the  two  Houses,  having  met  during  the  first  of 
the  two  years  for  which  the   Members  of  the 
Assembly  shall  have  been  elected,  whether  they 
shall  by  a  special  adjournment  over,  meet  again 
during  the  second  year — 

10.  That  the  Legislature  shall  cause  the  State 
to  be  divided  into  districts  equal  in  number  with 
the  Members  of  Assembly  to  be  denominated 
Assembly  Districts,  and  also  into  districts  equal 
in  number  with  the  Members  of  the  Senate  to  be 
denominated   Senate  Districts  and   the  Several 
Districts  to  contain  an  equal  number  of  Electors, 
as  near  as  may  be ;  and  a  Member  of  Assembly 
shall   be  elected   in   each    Assembly    District, 
and  a  Member  of  the  Senate  in  each  Senate  Dis- 
trict. 

11.  That    the    Legislature    shall    at    certain 
periods  of  not  less  than  ten,  nor  more  than 


fifteen,  years,  cause  a  Census  of  the  Electors  to 
be  taken,  and  thereupon  if  appearing  requisite  to 
a  due  Apportionment  of  the  Representation  in  the 
Legislature  cause  the  State  to  be  divided  into 
Districts  anew 

12.  That  the  period  for  which  a  Chancellor, 
or  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  or  first  Judge  of 
the  County  shall  hold  his  office  shall  be  extended 
to  seventy  years  of  age — 

13.  That  the  Legislature  may  in  their  discre- 
tion from   time    to   time  divide   the   State  into 
Districts   to  be  denominated  Judicial  Districts, 
assigning  a  Court  of  Chancery  and  a  Supreme 
Court  with   a  district  Chancellor   and  district 
Judges  for  each  District 

14.  That  on  the  first  division  the  persons  at 
the  time  in  office  as  Chancellor,  or  Judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  shall  severally,  by  force  of  their 
Commissions,  become  Chancellor  or  Judges  of 
the  Supreme  Court  respectively,  in  one  or  other, 
of  the  Districts  according  to  such  distribution  of 
them  as  the  Governor  shall  appoint — 

15.  That  the  present  Court  for  the  Correction 
of  Errors  shall  on  such  division  cease,  and  the 
Chancellors  and  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Courts 
of  the  Judicial  Districts,  and  the  Members  of 
the  Senate  of  the  Degree  of  Counsellor  at  Law 
in  a  Supreme  Court,  shall  become  the  Court  for 
the  Correction  of  Errors — 

16.  That   the  Chancellor,  or  Judges  of   the 
Supreme  Court  from  whose  Decree  or  Judgment 
the  Appeal  or  Writ  of  Error  shall  be,  shall  not 
be  deemed  precluded  from  having  a  voice  for  its 
Affirmance  or  Reversal — 

17.  That  the  Council  of  Appointment  shall 
cease,  ahd  all  Officers,  Civil  and  Military,  other 
than  those  directed  to  be  otherwise  appointed 
shall  be  appointed  by  the  Governor — 

2 


18.  That,  with  the  Exception  of  the  First 
Judges,  the  Legislature  may  in  their  discretion, 
vest  in  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  or  Boards  of 
Supervisors,  or  other  public  bodies,  in  the  several 
Cities  and  Counties  the  appointment  of  Sheriffs, 
Coroners,  Clerks  or  other  City  or  Countyo  fficers — 

19.  That  the  Court  for  the  trial  of  Impeach- 
ments shall  cease — 

20.  That  in  the  Cases  where  the  Office  is  held 
during  good  behavior  the  Senate  and  Assembly 
may  by  Concurrent    Resolution,   declare    their 
sense  that  it  is  not  expedient  a  person  in  Office 
should  continue  therein  and  thereupon  the  Com- 
mission  to  such   person  shall   cease,  but  such 
Resolution  shall  always  originate  in  the  Assem- 
bly, and  a  Majority  of  two  thirds  of  the  respec- 
tive Houses,  shall  be  required  to  pass  it,  and  the 
Motion  for  it  in  the  Assembly  shall  always  be 
made  without    Assignment  of   Cause,   and  the 
question  on  it  afterwards  in  each    House   be 
accordingly  taken  without  debate — 

21.  That  the  Council  of  Revision  shall  cease, 
but  no  Bill  shall  pass  the  House  in  which  it 
shall  originate,  and  no  amendment  thereto  from 
the  House  to  which  it  may  have  been  sent  for 
concurrence,   shall  be   agreed   to,  unless  by  a 
Majority  of  two  thirds. — 

[ADDRESSED  THE  HONBL  RUFUS  KING, 

Jamaica,  Queens  County 
POST  MARKED,  CAZENOVIA,  AUG.  17, 1821] 


VI. 

THE 

UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 
BY  SEU-KI-YU, 

GOVERNOR  OF  FUH-KIEN,  CHINA. 

Translated    from    the    original   Chinese,  at   the   United 

States  Legation  at  Pekin,  and  communicated 

to  the  HISTORICAL  MAGAZINE, 

for  publication, 

BY  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE 
OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


DEPARTMENT  OF  STATK, 
WASHINGTON,  26th  June,  1867. 
HENRY  B.  DAWSON,  Esqre, 
Morrisania, 

New  York. 
DEAR  SIR: 

In  the  absence  of  the  Secretary  of  State  I  have  to  acknowl- 
edge the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  22nd  instant,  inquiring  as 
to  the  genuineness  of  a  statement  in  regard  to  a  translation  of  a 
Historical  sketch  of  the  United  States  by  Seu-Ki-Yu,  a  Chinese 
writer,  and  in  reply  to  inform  you  that  such  a  translation  was 
communicated  to  this  Department  from  the  Legation  of  the 
United  States  in  China.  I  inclose  a  correct  copy  thereof  and  a 
copy  of  a  dispatch  which  was  addressed  to  Mr  Burlingaine  on 
the  subject,  to  which  is  prefixed  an  explanatory  statement. 
Very  truly  yours, 

F.  W.  SEWARD, 

Assistant  Secretary. 


[INCLOSUKES.] 
1. — EXPLANATORY  STATEMENT. 

It  appears  that  Seu-Ki-Yu  was,  from  1844  to  1850,  Governor 
of  Fuh-Kien.  During  that  time  he  wrote  and  published,  in  the 
Chinese  language,  a  work  on  Universal  Geography,  giving  an 
account  of  the  establishment  of  America  by  Washington.  For 
this  publication,  so  favorable  to  the  Western  Powers,  some  of 
which  were  then  in  collision  with  China,  and  so  favorable  es- 
pecially to  the  United  States,  Seu-Ki-Yu  was  dismissed  from 
office  by  the  Emperor  Hien-Fung,  on  his  accession  to  the  throne 
of  China  in  1850. 

His  work  and  his  sacrifices  for  the  truth  of  history  were  made 
known  to  the  Government  at  Washington  by  the  late  Charge 
of  the  United  States  at  Pekin,  Mr.  Williams.  Through  the  ef- 
forts of  the  legation,  the  Imperial  Government  reversed  its 
sentence  of  proscription  against  Seu-Ki-Yu,  and  recalled  him 
into  its  employment  as  a  member  of  the  Foreign  Office  of  the 
Government. 

J^The  Secretary  of  State  presented  him  with  a  portrait  of  Wash- 
ington. 


2. — LETTER  FROM  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE  TO  MK.  BTJELINGAME. 
IT.  8.  MINISTER  TO  CHINA. 

DEPARTMENT  or  STATE, 
WASHINGTON.  January  21.  1867. 

SIR:  Mr.  S.Welles  Williams,  in  a  dispatch,  No.  16,  and  in 
an  unofficial  letter  of  the  22d  of  February  last,  invited  my  at- 
tention to  the  fact  that  his  Excellency'  Seu-Ki-Yu,  a  distin- 
guished Chinese  statesman,  then  recently  appointed  to  the  For- 
eign Office,  had  in  various  ways  manifested  a  liberal  and 
friendly  appreciation  of  the  importance  of  amicable  relations 
between  the  United  States  and  other  Western  Powers  and 
China,  and  that  he  had  written  an  eulogy  upon  the  life  and 
character  -of  George  Washington,  which  reflects  great  credit 
upon  the  author.  When  these  facts  became  known  to  me  they 
afforded  me  the  liveliest  satisfaction,  and  I  thought  it  might  be 
agreeable  to  his  Excellency  to  possess  a  faithful  portrait  of  the 
subject  of  his  eulogy.  I  have  accordingly  caused  an  exact  copy* 
to  be  made  by  one  of  our  most  skillful  artists  of  the  original 
likeness,  painted  by  Gilbert  Stuart  from  life.  This  copy,  suita- 
bly framed,  will  be  forwarded  to  your  address  by  the  first  con- 
venient opportunity,  for  presentation  by  you  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  may  seem  most  appropriate,  to  his  Excellency,  Seu-Ki- 
Yu,  as  a  mark  of  the  high  appreciation  entertained  of  the  wis- 
dom and  virtue  which  have  justly  entitled  him  to  the  exalted 
station  which  he  has  attained. 

I  am,  Sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  H.  SEWARD. 
ANSON  BURLINGAME,  Esqr. 


*  The  copy  was  made  by  Henry  C.  Pratt.  Esqre,  of  Boston 
Mass. 


UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.* 


America  is  a  vast  country.  Owing  to  its  mer- 
chant ships  carrying  a  variegated  flag,  it  is  usu- 
ally known  at  Canton  as  the  Hwa-ki-kwoh,  or 
Flowery  Flag  Nation.f  It  is  bounded  on  the 
North  by  the  English  territory,  and  on  the  South 
by  Mexico  and  Texas ;  its  Eastern  border  lies 
along  the  Great  Western  ocean,  while  its  West- 
ern is  on  the  vast  ocean,  a  distance  of  about  Ten 
thousand  li,$  lying  between  them.  From  North 
to  South  the  distance  is  between  Fivs  thousand 
and  Six  thousand  li  in  the  widest  parts,  and  from 
Three  thousand  to  Four  thousand  li  in  the  narrow- 
est. The  Apalachian  range  winds  along  its  East- 
ern coast,  and  the  great  Rocky  Mountains  enclose 
its  Western  borders,  between  which  lies  a  vast 
level  region  many  thousands  of  miles  in  extent. 

The  Mississippi  is  the  chief  of  its  rivers.  Its 
sources  are  very  remote,  and  after  running  more 
than  a  myriad  li  in  serpentine  course,  it  joins 

*  It  is  also  called  Collected  Nations  of  America,  United 
League  Nations,  Confederated  Countries  of  America,  and  United 
all  States,  (i.  «.,  these  different  Chinese  names  have  been  used.) 

t  This  flag  is  an  oblong  banner,  with  red  and  white  stripes 
alternating ;  in  the  right-hand  corner  is  a  small  square  of  a  black 
color,  wherein  are  drawn  many  white  spots  arranged  in  a  form 
resembling  the  Constellation  of  the  Dipper. 

|  This  is  a  vague  expression  for  a  vast  distance  ;  three  li  are 
usually  reckoned  to  equal  an  English  mile. — Translator's 
Note. 

2 


the  Missouri  river,  and  the  great  united  river 
flows  on  South  to  the  sea.  The  other  celebrated 
rivers  are  the  Columbia,  Mobile,  Apalacbicola, 
and  Delaware.  Great  lakes  lie  on  theNorthern 
border  towards  the  West.  They  are  divided 
from  each  other  by  Four  streams,  and  are  called 
Iroquois,  or  St.  Clair,  Huron,  Superior,  and  Mich- 
igan. To  the  East  lie  Two  others,  Erie  and  Onta- 
rio, which  are  joined  to  each  other.  These  to- 
§  other  form  the  boundary  between  the  United 
tates  and  the  British  possessions. 

It  was  the  English  people  who  first  discovered 
and  took  North  America,  and  drove  out  the  abo- 
rigines. The  fertile  and  eligible  lands  were  set- 
tled by  emigrants  moved  over  there  from  the 
Three  [British]  islands,  who  thus  occupied  them. 
These  emigrants  hastened  over  with  a  force  like 
that  of  the  torrent  running  down  the  gully. 
Poor  people  from  France,  Holland,  Denmark  and 
Sweden,  also  sailed  over  to  join  them,  and  as  they 
all  daily  opened  up  new  clearings,  the  country 
continually  grew  rich  in  its  cultivated  lands. 
High  English  officers  held  it  for  their  Sovereign; 
and  as  cities  and  towns  sprung  up  all  along  the 
coasts,  their  revenues  were  collected  for  his  ben- 
efit. Commerce  constantly  increased  in  extent 
and  amount,  so  that  thus  the  inhabitants  rapidly 
became  rich  and  powerful. 

During  the  reign  of  Kemburg  (A.  D.  1736- 
1796)  the  English  and  French  were  at  war  for 
several  years,  during  which  the  former  exacted 
the  duties  throughout  all  their  possessions,  in- 
creasing the  taxes  more  than  previously.  By 
the  old  tariff,  for  instance,  the  duty  on  Tea  was 
levied  when  it  was  sold  •  but  the  English  now 
required  that  another  tax  should  be  paid  by  the 
buyer. 

The  people  of  America  would  -not  stand  this, 


3 


and  in  the  year  1776  their  gentry  and  leading 
men  assembled  together  in  order  to  consult 
with  the  [English]  Governor  how  to  arrange 
this  matter;  but  he  drove  them  from  his  pres- 
ence, dispersed  the  assembly,  and  demanded 
that  the  tax  be  collected  all  the  more  strictly. 
The  people  thereupon  rose  in  their  wrath,  threw 
all  the  Tea  in  the  ships  into  the  sea,  and  then 
consulted  together  how  they  could  raise  troops 
to  expel  the  British. 

There  was  at  this  time  a  man  named  Wash- 
ington,  a  native  of  another  Colony,  born  in  1732, 
who  had  lost  his  fatber  at  the  age  of  Ten,  but 
had  been  admirably  trained  by  his  mother. 
While  a  boy  he  showed  a  great  spirit  and  apti- 
tude for  literary  and  martial  pursuits ;  and  his 
love  for  brave  and  adventurous  deeds  exceeded 
those  of  ordinary  men.  He  had  held  a  military 
commission  under  the  English,  and  during  the 
war  with  France,  when  the  French  leagued  with 
the  Indians,  and  made  an  irruption  into  the 
Southern  provinces,  he  led  on  a  body  of  troops 
and  drove  them  back;  but  the  English  General 
would  not  report  this  expeditious  operation,  so 
that  his  worthy  deeds  were  not  recorded  (for  his 
promotion). 

The  people  of  the  land  now  wished  to  have 
him  to  be  their  leader,  but  he  went  home  on  plea 
of  sickness  and  shut  himself  up.  When  they 
had  actually  raised  the  standard  of  rebellion, 
however,  they  compelled  him  to  become  their 
General. 

Though  neither  troops  nor  depots,  neither 
arms  nor  ammunition,  stores  nor  forage,  existed 
at  this  time,  Washington  so  inspirited  everybody 
by  his  own  patriotism,  and  urged  them  on  by  his 
own  energy,  that  the  proper  Boards  and  Depart- 
ments were  soon  arranged,  and  he  was  thereby 


enabled  to  [bring  up  Jiis  forces}  invest  the  cap- 
ital. The  British  General  had  intrenched  some 
marines  outside  the  city,  when  a  storm  suddenly 
dispersed  his  ships.  Washington  improved  the 
conjuncture  by  vigorously  attacking  the  city,  and 
succeeded  in  taking  it. 

The  English  then  gathered  a  great  army,  and 
renewed  the  engagement.  Ho  lost  the  battle 
completely,  and  his  men  were  so  disheartened 
and  terrified  that  they  began  to  disperse.  But 
his  great  heart  maintained  its  composure,  and 
he  so  rallied  and  reassured  his  army  that  they 
renewed  the  contest,  and  victory  finally  turned 
in  their  favor.  Thus  the  bloody  strife  went  on 
for  Eight  years.  Sometimes  victorious  and  some- 
times vanquished,  Washington's  determination 
and  energy  never  quailed,  while  the  English 
General  began  to  grow  old. 

The  King  of  France  also  sent  a  General  across 
the  sea  to  strengthen  the  tottering  States.  He 
joined  his  forces  with  those  of  Washington,  and 
gave  battle  to  the  British  army.  The  rulers  of 
Spain  and  Holland  likewise  hampered  their 
military  operations,  and  advised  them  to  con- 
clude a  peace.  The  English  at  last  could  no 
longer  act  freely,  and  ended  the  strife  in  the 
year  1783,  by  making  a  treaty  with  Washington. 
According  to  the  stipulations,  the  boundary  line 
was  so  drawn  that  they  had  the  desolate  and 
cold  region  on  the  North,  while  the  fertile  and 
genial  Southern  portions  were  confirmed  to 
him. 

Washington,  having  thus  established  the 
States,  gave  up  his  military  command  for  the 
purpose  of  returning  to  his  farm,  but  the  people 
would  not  permit  him  thus  to  retire,  and  obliged 
him  to  become  their  ruler.  He,  however,  pro- 
posed a  plan  to  them  as  follows  :  "  It  is  very  self- 


"  ish  for  him  who  gets  the  power  in  the  State  to 
"  hand  it  down  to  his  posterity.  In  filling  the 
u  post  of  the  shepherd  of  the  people,  it  will  be 
"  most  suitable  to  select  a  virtuous  man." 

Each  of  the  old  Colonies  was  thereupon  formed 
into  a  separate  State,  having  its  own  Governor 
to  direct  its  affairs,  with  a  Lieutenant  Governor 
to  assist  him,*  each  of  whom  held  office  for  Four 
years.f  At  the  general  meeting  of  the  people  of 
his  State,  if  they  regarded  him  as  worthy,  he  is 
permitted  to  hold  his  post  during  another  term 
of  Four  years,!  but  if  not,  then  the  Lieutenant 
Governor  takes  his  place.  If,  however,  the  lat- 
ter does  not  obtain  the  approbation  of  the  people, 
another  man  is  chosen  to  the  dignity  when  his 
time  has  expired.  When  the  head  men  of  the 
villages  and  towns  are  proposed  for  office,  their 
names  and  surnames  are  written  on  tickets  and 
thrown  into  a  box.  When  everybody  has  done 
so  the  box  is  opened,  and  it  is  then  known  who 
is  elected  by  his  having  the  most  votes,  and  he 
takes  the  office.  Whether  he  has  been  an  official 
or  is  a  commoner,  DO  examination  is  required  aa 
to  his  qualifications ;  and  when  an  officer  vacates 
his  place  he  becomes  in  all  respects  one  of  the 
common  people  again. 

From  among  all  the  Governors  of  the  separate 
States  one  Supreme  Govwnor  [or  President]  is 
chosen,  to  whom  belongs  the  right  to  make 
Treaties  and  carry  on  War,  and  whose  orders  each 
State  is  bound  to  obey.  The  manner  of  his  elec- 
tion is  the  same  as  that  for  a  Governor  of  a  State. 
He  holds  his  office  Four  years,  or,  if  re-elected, 

*  Sometimes  the  Lieutenant  Governor  Is  a  single  officer ;  in 
other  cases  several  persons  aid  the  Governor. 

t  They  are  also  changed  biennially  and  sometimes  annually. 

t  When  he  has  held  the  office  for  Eight  years  he  cannot  be 
re-elected. 


for  Eight.  Since  the  days  of  Washington  (who 
died  in  1799)  the  country  has  existed  Sixty  years ; 
there  have  been  Nine  Presidents,  and  the  present 
incumbent  [Tyler]  was  elected  from  Virginia. 

When  Washington  made  peace  with  the  Brit- 
ish he  dismissed  all  the  troops,  and  directed  the 
attention  of  the  country  entirely  to  agriculture 
and  commerce.  He  also  issued  a  mandate  say- 
ing :  "  If  hereafter  a  President  should  covetously 
"  plot  how  he  can  seize  the  forts  or  lands  of 
"  another  kingdom,  or  harass  and  extort  the  peo- 
"  pie's  wealth,  or  raise  troops  to  gratify  his  per- 
"  sonal  quarrels,  let  all  the  people  put  him  to 
"  death."  He  accordingly  retained  only  Twenty 
national  war  vessels,  and  limited  the  army  to 
Ten  thousand  men. 

The  area  of  the  country  is  very  great,  and 
every  one  exerts  himself  to  increase  its  fertility 
and  riches.  The  several  States  have  all  one  ob- 
ject, and  act  together  in  entire  harmony;  the 
other  nations  of  the  world  have  therefore  main- 
tained amicable  relations  with  the  United  States, 
and  have  never  presumed  to  despise  or  encroach 
on  them.  During  the  Sixty  years  that  have 
elapsed  since  peace  with  England  there  has  been 
no  internal  war,  and  their  trade  has  increased  so 
that  the  number  of  American  merchantmen  re- 
sorting to  Canton  yearly  is  second  only  to  those 
of  Great  Britain. 

It  appears  from  the  above  that  Washington 
was  a  very  remarkable  man.  In  devising  plans 
he  was  more  daring  than  Chin  Shiug  or  Hang 
Kwang.  In  winning  a  country  he  was  braver 
than  Tson  Tsan  or  Sin  Pi.  Wielding  his  four- 
foot  falchion,  he  enlarged  the  frontier  myriads 
of  miles,  and  yet  he  refused  to  usurp  regal  dig- 
nity, or  even  to  transmit  it  to  posterity ;  but,  on 
the  contrary,  first  proposed  the  plan  of  elect- 


ing  men  to  office.  Where  in  the  world  can  be 
found  a  mode  more  equitable  ?  It  is  the  same 
idea  in  fact,  that  has  been  handed  down  to  us 
[the  Chinese]  from  three  reigns  of  San,  Shun  and 
Yu.  In  ruling  the  State  he  honored  and  fostered 
good  usages,  and  did  not  exalt  military  merit,  a 
principle  totally  unlike  what  is  found  in  other 
kingdoms.  I  have  seen  his  portrait.  His  mien 
and  countenance  are  grand  and  impressive  in  the 
highest  degree.  Oh,  who  is  there  that  does  not 
call  him  a  hero  ?# 

*  ChingShing  and  Hang  Kwang  were  two  patriotic  generals, 
who  endeavored  to  overthrow  the  Tsin  dynasty,  (B.  C.  208,) 
and  restore  the  feudal  system,  and  establish  their  own  prince 
in  his  stead.  Tsan  Tsan  and  Sin  Pi  were  rival  chieftains,  (A. 
D.  220.)  the  first  of  whom  destroyed  the  great  Han  dynasty,  and 
the  second,  after  surviving  all  his  own  efforts  to  uphold  it, 
founded  a  small  State  himself  in  the  west  of  China.  The  four- 
foot  falchion  is  an  allusion  to  the  celebrated  sword  of  Sin  Pan, 
the  founder  of  the  Han  dynasty,  (B.  C.  202,)  with  which  ho 
clove  in  twain  a  huge  serpent  that  crossed  his  path.  The  Three 
monarchs,  Yan,  Shun  and  Yu,  were  among  the  earliest  Chinese 
rulers,  (B.  C.  235T-2205,)  and  were  chosen  to  fill  the  throne  on 
account  of  their  virtues. 


THE   ORIGIN 


M'F  I  N  G  A  L 


BY    HON.   J.    HAMMOND   TRUMBULL. 
PRESIDENT  or  THE  CONNECTICUT  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


MORRISANIA,    N.    Y. 
1868. 


INTRODUCTORY    NOTE. 

The  following  paper,  originally  published  in  THE 
HISTORICAL  MAGAZINE,  for  January,  1868,  has  been 
reproduced  in  this  form  for  the  use  of  the  Author  and 
his  friends.  H.  B.  D. 

MORRISANIA,  N.    / 


JOHN  TRUMBULL,    the    author  of    M'Fingal, 
after  his  admission  to  the  bar  in  Connecticut,1 
prosecuted  the  study  of  law  at  Boston,  in  the 
office  of  John  Adams,   from  November,    1773, 
till  September,  1774,     During  this  period,  as  the 

1.  For  the  Life  of  Trnmbull,  see  the  Memoir  prefixed  to 
the  Hartford  Edition  of  his  Poetical  Works  (1820,  two  vol- 
umes, octavo),  EVEEEST'S  Poets  of  Connecticut,  and  DUYOK- 
INCK'S  Cyclopcedia  of  American  Literature,  i.  308-312. 

The  following  Notes,  preserved  by  President  Stiles  in  his 
Itinerary  [MS.],  make  a  considerable  addition  to  what  the 
poet  has  elsewhere  told  us  of  himself  and  to  the  gleanings  of 
his  biographers : 

"  Memoirs  Juo.  Trumbull  Esq.,  Poet.  (Ex  ore  John  Trum- 
"  bull,  May  14,  1783.) 

"  1750,  Apr.  24  N.  S.  born  at  Westbury  "  [now  Watertown}. 
"  Ml  2.  Began  Primer  and  learned  to  read  in  half-year, 
"  without  school.  Mother  taught  him  all  the  primer 
"  verses,  and  Watts'  Children's  Hymns,  before  [he  could} 
"read." 

"^Et.  4.  Read  the  Bible  thro'— before  4.  About  this  time 
"  began  to  make  Verses.  First  poetry  [he  read  was} 
"  Watts'  Lyrics,  and  could  repeat  the  whole, — and  the 
"  only  poetical  book  he  read  till  set.  6. 

"  -<Et.  5.  Attempted  to  write  and  print  his  own  verses. 
"  Sample,  —  large  hugeous  letters.  This  first  attempt 
"  at  writing,  by  himself,  and  before  writing  after  copy. 
"  Scrawls. 

"  Mt.  6.  In  Spring  began  to  learn  Latin  and  learned  half 
" Lilly's  Grammar  before  his  father  knew  it:  catched  it, 
"as  his  father  was  instructing  Southmayd"  [William; 
grad.  Yale,  1761;  son  of  Capt.  Daniel,  of  Waterbury.] 
"  Same  Spring,  was  6  yrs.  old.  Learned  Quce  genus  by 
"  heart  in  a  day.  Tenacious  memory:  quick,  too. 
"  Mt.  9.  On  a  wager  laid— to  commit  to  memory  one  ot 
"  Salmon's  Pater  Nosters  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour— he  ef- 
"  fected  it,  reciting  by  memory  the  P.  N.  in  Hungarian 

1 


G 


Memoir  prefixed  to  the  revised  edition  of  his 
Works  informs  us,  "lie  frequently  employed  his 
' '  leisure  hours  hi  writing  essays  on  political  sub- 
jects in  the  public  gazettes;  which  had,  per- 
"haps,  a  greater  effect,  from  the  novelty  of  the 
"  manner  and  the  caution  he  used  to  prevent  any 
"discovery  of  the  real  author."  Shortly  after 
his  return  to  Connecticut,  he  became  a  contributor 
to  the  Hartford  Courant,  -then  published  by 
Ebenezer  Watson,  and  afterwards  by  Hudson  &r 


"arid  Malabar,  iu  Salmon;  and  retains  it  to  this  day.  I 
"  heard  him  repeat  the  Hungarian. 

"  JEt.  iyz.  In  Sept.  1T5T,  entered  Yale  College— having  fitted 
"  for  College  in  one  year  and  half;  having  learned  Cor- 
"  dery,  Tully's  XII  Select  Oration*,  Virgil's  Eclogues,  and 
"  all  the  ^Eneid  (not  Georffics,)  and  4  Gospels  in  Greek."* 

"  Mt.  8.  Read  Milton,  and  Thompson's  Seasons—  Telemachus 
"—the  Spectators.  These,  all  the  poetical  and  belles 
[lettres]  "  books  till  set  13. 

"  ^Et.  13#.  Sept.  1763.  Entered  College  again  and  resided 
"  there.  Before  this,  read  Homer,  and  Horace,  and  Tully 
"  De  Orator -e.  Versified  half  the  Psalms  before  set.  9,  when 
"  he  first  saw  Watts'  Psalms,  and  laid  aside  (and  burnt)  his 
"own.  Before  4  set,  upon  first  reading  Watts'  Lyrics,  he 
"  cried  because  he  despaired  of  ever  being  able  to  write 
"  Poems  like  Watts. 

"  JEt.  17.  Grad.  at  Y.  C.  and  resided  as  Dean's  Scholar  till 
[he]  "took  [his'}  2d  degree.  Then  lived  one  year  at 
"  Wethersfield. 

"  j£t.  21.  Elected  Tutor  Y.  C.  and  in  office  2  years. 

"  1773.  Resigned  Tutorship,  having  studied  law  one  year. 

"  1774.  One  year  studied  law  under  Dr.  John  Adams  in  Bos- 
"  ton ;  and  left,  Sept.  1774. 

"1775.  Fall,  wrote  two  first  Cantos  of  M'Fingal ;  printed, 
"Jan.  1776. 

"1782.  Jan.  to  April,  wrote  the  rest  of  M'Fingal ;  printed, 
"September." 

"  At  the  Commencement  in  this  Town  the  14th  Instant, 
"  .  .  among  those  that  appear'd  to  be  examined  for  Ad- 
"  mission  was  the  Son  of  the  Rev'd  Mr.  Trumble,  of 
"  Waterbury,  who  passed  a  good  Examination,  altho' 
"but  little  more  than  seven  Years  of  Age;  but  on  Account 
"  of  his  Youth  his  Father  does  not  intend  he  shall  at 
"present  continue  at  College." — Connecticut  Gazette,  No. 
129,  September  24,  1757. 


Goodwin.2  Gage, — whose  early  confidence  in 
his  ability  "  to  play  the  lion'1  had  much  abated 
since  his  arrival  at  Boston,  in  May,  1774, — was 
now  apparently  relying  more  upon  the  pen  than 
the  sword,  to  awe  America  to  submission.  In 
MlFingal  (Canto  ii.,  p.  31)  Trumbull  retraces 

The  annals  of  the  first  great  year : 
'  While,  wearying  out  the  Tories'  patience, 
'  He  spent  his  breath  in  proclamations ; 
'  While  all  his  mighty  noise  and  vapour 
'  Was  used  in  wrangling  upon  paper ; 


'  While  strokes  alternate  stunn'd  the  nation, 
'  Protest,  address,  and  proclamation ; 
'  And  speech  met  speech,  fib  clash'd  with  fib, 
'  And  Gage  still  answer'd,  squib  for  squib." 

Into  this  word}'  warfare,  Trumbull  entered  with 
spirit  and  success.  Imitations  in  burlesque  of 
Gage's  magnificent  and  turgid  Proclamations, 

"  In  true  sublime  of  scarecrow  style," 

had  occasionally  appeared  in  the  newspapers  of 
Boston  and  in  Connecticut.  At  so  fair  a  mark, 
ridicule  could  hardly  miss  its  aim  ;  and  these 
squibs  were  perhaps  quite  as  popular  and  effective 
as  if  their  versification  had  been  smoother  or  their 
wit  more  refined. 

The  Proclamation  of  the  twenty-fifth  of  July, 
1 774,  ' '  for  the  Encouragement  of  Piety  and 
"  Virtue,"  &c.,  and  that  of  the  twenty -eighth  of 

2.  In  1772,  while  a  Tutor  of  Yale,  he  published  the  first  Part 
of  The  Proc/ress  of  Dullness, — a  poem  "  designed  to  expose 
"  the  absurd  methods  of  education  which  then  prevailed ;"  a 
second  Part,  with  another  Edition  of  the  first,"  was  printed 
in  January,  1773 ;  and  the  third  Part  appeared  in  July.  In 
May,  1772,  he  had  published  in  the  Courant,  An  Eleny  on  the 
Death  of  Mr.  Buckingham  St.  John,  one  of  his  earliest  and 
most  intimate  friends.  Shortly  before  leaving  Boston, 
(August,  1774,)  he  wrote  An  Elegy  on  the  Times,  which  was 
printed  in  one  of  the  Boston  papers.  All  these  publication  s 
were  anonymous. 


8 


September,  proroguing  the  General  Courtof  Mas- 
sachusetts, were  thus  re-produced,  in  doggerel,  and 
printed  (one,  or  both,  perhaps,  being  copied  from 
a  Boston  paper,)  in  the  Courant,  of  the  third  of 
October.  In  the  Boston  Gazette  of  the  fourteenth 
of  November,  a  Proclamation  prohibiting  com- 
pliance with  the  requisition  of  the  Massachusetts 
Provincial  Congress,  for  the  payment  of  taxes  to  a 
Receiver  of  their  own  appointment,  &c.,  ap- 
peared in  Hudibrastic  verse  : 

'  Since  an  Assembly  most  unlawful, 

'  At  Cambridge  met,  in  Congress  awful, 

'  October  last,  did  then  presume 

'  The  powers  of  government  to  assume ; 

'  And  slighting  British  administration, 

'Dar'd  rashly  seek  their  own  salvation,"  &c. 

This  was  re-printed  the  following  week  in  the 
(four ant,  and  in  several  other  newspapers. 

Whether  this  and  other  similar  compositions, 
published  in  the  Courant,  in  1774,  were  from 
TrumbulTs  pen,  is  not  certain.  His  characteristic 
i"  caution  to  prevent  discovery"  has  rendered  it 
cmpossible  to  convict  him  of  the  authorship,  ex- 
cept  upon  the  internal  evidence.  In  some  publi- 
ations  of  the  following  year,  such  evidence  is 
more  direct ;  and  in  one  instance,  at  least,  it  is 
positive  and  conclusive. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  June,  1775,  the  Courant 
published  Gage's  Proclamation  of  the  twelfth, 
extending  free  pardon  to  "the  infatuated  rnulti- 
"  tude,"  on  their  return  to  allegiance,  but  pro- 
scribing Samuel  Adams  and  John  Hancock,  with 
"all  their  adherents,  associates,  and  abettors," 
and  establishing  Martial  Law  throughout  Massa- 
chusetts. The  Proclamation  re-appeared  in  the 
same  paper,  on  the  seventeenth  of  July,  in  bur- 
lesque verse,  as 


'ToM  GAGE'S  PBOCTLAMATIOIC, 

'  Or  blustering  Denunciation, 

'  (Replete  with  Defamation,) 

'  Threat'ning  Devastation, 

'  And  speedy  Jugulation, 

'  Of  the  New  English  Nation    .    . 

'Who  shall  his  pious  ways  shun  ?" 

ending  in  due  form,  with 

'  Thus  graciously,  the  war  I  wage, " 

'  As  witnesseth  my  hand    .    .    .    TOM  GAGE." 

"  By  command  of  Mother  Gary, 

"  THOMAS  FLUOKEE,  Secretary." 

This  burlesque  may  have  been  previously  pub- 
lished elsewhere.  Its  merit  is  too  slight  to  im- 
part any  interest  to  the  question  of  its  origin.  It 
appears,  however,  to  have  attained  a  transient 
popularity  and  was  widely  copied  by  the  patri- 
otic press.  It  may  be  found  (reprinted  from  the 
Pennsylvania  Journal,  of  the  twenty-eighth  of 
June,)  in  MOORE'S  Diary  of  the  Revolution,  vol. 
i.,  pp.  93-94.  In  the  Courant  of  the  seventh  and 
the  fourteenth  of  August,  another  version  of  the 
Proclamation  made  its  appearance ;  and  this  last 
was  unquestionably  written  by  Trumbull.  It  is 
somewhat  remarkable  that  not  only  the  evi- 
dence of  authorship,  but  the  composition  itself, 
should  have  escaped  the  observation  of  so  many 
diligent  gleaners  of  the  newspaper  literature  of 
the  Revolution.  It  is  more  surprising  that  no 
Editor  of  M'Fingal  has  detected  in  the  burlesque 
Proclamation  the  origin  of  the  "modern  epic," 
to  which  more  than  fifty  of  the  two  hundred  and 
sixteen  lines  of  this  earlier  composition  were 
transferred  by  its  author. 

In  a  letter  to  the  Marquis  de  Chastellux,  Trum- 
bull states  that  "the  poem  of  M'Fingal  was 
' '  written  merely  with  a  political  view,  at  the 
1 '  instigation  of  some  leading  members  of  the 
"  first  Congress,  who  urged  [him]  to  compose  a 


10 


"satirical  poem  on  the  events  of  the  Campaign 
"in  the  year  1775."  The  Memoir  prefixed  to  the 
Edition  of  1820,  adds,  that  the  friends  at  whose 
solicitations  the  first  Canto  was  written,  "  imme- 
' '  diately  procured  it  to  be  published  at  Philadel- 
"  phia,  where  Congress  was  then  assembled."  It 
made  its  appearance  in  an  octavo  pamphlet  of 
forty  pages, — printed  by  William  and  Thomas 
Bradford, — in  January,  1776,  but  with  the  date 
of  1775.  At  this  time,  the  author  "had  also 
"  formed  the  plan  of  the  [whole]  work,  sketched 
"  some  of  the  scenes  of  the  third  Canto,  and 
"written  the  beginning  of  the  fourth" — the 
first  Canto,  as  originally  published,  was  subse- 
quently divided  into  two.  The  composition  was 
suspended  until  after  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis 
had  established  the  success  of  the  Revolution, 
when  the  poem  was  completed  and  published,  in 
Hartford,  by  Hudson  &  Goodwin,  on  the  tenth  of 
September,  1782.  Before  the  close  of  the  year, 
(December  28,)  a  second  edition  was  issued  by  a 
rival  Hartford  Publisher,  Nathaniel  Patten,3  with- 
out the  author's  consent. 


3.  NATHANIEL  PATTEN — for  many  years  an  enterprising, 
not  over-scrupnions,  publisher  at  Hartford,  was  originally  a 
book-binder.  He  had  removed  from  Boston  to  Norwich,  in 
the  Spring  of  1774,  and  after  carrying  on  business  at  the 
latter  place  for  two  years,  came  to  Hartford  in  the  summer 
of  1776,— opening  a  shop  as  binder,  stationer,  and  book- 
seller. After  a  few  years  he  began  to  publish  on  his  own 
account. 

It  is  worth  noting,  that  Patten's  piracy  of  M'Fingal  led  to 
the  enactment  by  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut,  in 
January,  1783,  of  a  law  of  Copyright,  securing  to  authors 
the  exclusive  right  of  publishing  and  vending  their  works 
for  fourteen  years.  PATTEN'S  edition  ot  M'Fingal  was  ad- 
vertised in  the  Courant,  on  the  seventh  of  January,  1783, 
with  the  statement  that  "  this  ingenious  work  has  lately 
"  been  sold  for  the  extravagant  price  of  Half  a  Dollar,  but 
"  will  now  be  offered  at  one  third  less."  In  the  same  num- 
ber of  the  Courant  appeared  an  article  of  two  columns, 
probably  from  Trumbull's  pen,  on  the  importance  of  en- 


11 


The  Proclamation  Versified  was  published,  as 
has  been  mentioned,  in  August,  1775.  So  large 
a  portion  of  it  is  re-produced  in  the  first  three 
Cantos  of  M'Pingal,  that  the  latter  poem  may  be 
said  to  have  grown  directly  out  of  the  former. 
That  it  was  the  appearance  of  this  burlesque 
which  induced  the  Author's  friends  to  urge  him 
to  the  composition  of  a  longer  and  regularly  con- 
structed poem,  in  the  same  measure  and  a  similar 
vein,  is  hardly  doubtful. 

Among  the  prominent  members  of  the  Congress 
of  1775,  to  whom  Trumbull  was  personally  known, 
and  whose  solicitation  was  likely  to  have  weight 
with  him,— besides  the  Delegation  from  his  own 
State,  including  Oliver  Wolcott,  Roger  Sherman, 
and  Silas  Deane, — were  John  Adams,  his  in- 
structor in  law,  and  Thomas  Gushing,  in  whose 
family  he  had  lived  while  in  Boston.  They  were 
not  mistaken  in  their  estimate  of  his  genius  and 
of  the  service  which,  in  that  "period  of  terror 
"  and  dismay,"  his  wit,  humor,  and  satiric  power 
might  render  to  the  friends  of  American  liberty, 
"  to  inspire  confidence  in  our  cause,  to  crush  the 
"  efforts  of  the  Tory  party,  and  to  prepare  the 
"public  mind  for  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
"  dence."  With  these  objects  in  view,  as  his 
Memoir  informs  us,  he  wrote  the  first  part  of 
Ml  Pinged.  Its  success  abundantly  justified  the 
judgment  of  his  friends.  Its  popularity  was  un- 

conraging  productions  of  genius  by  ensuring  to  Authors  the 
profits  arising  from  the  sale  of  their  writings.  The  writer 
alludes  to  the  "  great  discouragement  to  a  writer,  on  the 
''first  publication  of  his  work,  to  see  some  mean  and  un- 

'  generous  Printer seizing  [it]  out  of  his  hands,  re- 

'  printing  it  in  so  mangled  and  inelegant  a  manner  that  the 
'  author  must  be  ashamed  of  the  Edition,  and  defrauding 
'  him  of  the  profits  of  his  labors."  On  the  meeting  of  the 
General  Assembly,  a  few  days  afterwards,  a  petition  was 
preferred,  and  the  enactment  of  "  An  Act  for  the  Encourage- 
"  merit  of  Literature  and  Genius"  was  procured. 


12 


exampled ;  and  that  the  favor  with  which  it  was 
received,  at  home  and  abroad,  was  not  attribu- 
table merely  to  the  interest  of  its  subject  or  the 
seasonableness  of  the  publication  is  sufficiently 
proved  by  the  fact,  that  "more  than  thirty  im- 
"  pressions"  had  been  called  for  before  1820,  and 
that  then,  as  now,  it  had  not  only  its  established 
place  in  every  good  library,  but  had  become  the 
prey  of  "newsmongers,  hawkers,  peddlers,  and 
"petty  chapmen,"  who,  as  the  Author  complains, 
repubtished  it  at  pleasure,  without  his  permission 
or  knowledge. 

In  the  Notes  appended  to  this  re-print,  those 
portions  of  the  burlesqued  Proclamation  which 
were  afterwards  incorporated  in  M'Fingal  are 
indicated  by  references  to  the  Author's  Edition 
of  the  complete  poem,  (Hartford,  1782),  except 
when  another  Edition  is  particularly  mentioned. 
The  suppression,  after  the  publication  of  the  first 
Canto,  of  the  name  of  Daniel  Leonard,  as  the 
author  of  the  letters  of  Massachusettensis,  and 
the  substitution  of  William  Smith  for  Isaac  Low, 
in  the  humorous  description  of  proceedings  in 
New  York,  are  perhaps  worthy  of  special  notice. 
(See  Notes  4  and  9.) 

A  copy  of  the  genuine  Proclamation,  from  a 
broadside  in  the  library  of  George  Brinley,  Esq. , 
is  prefixed  to  the  imitation,  that  it  may  be  seen 
how  closely  and  skilfully  Trumbull  followed  his 
copy. 


VIII. 

A   LEAF   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 
HISTORY. 

By  GEORGE  HENRY  MOORE, 


A    LEAF    OF   MASSACHUSETTS    HISTORY. 


"  ETTJ  &rjpav  Kn\  Kvyrjyeaioi'  Hi$r)u>7Ta>i 
PT.UTAEOH  :  Alexander. 
"Cry  Havock,  and  let  slip  the  dogs  of  war."—  Su.vKrGrsASE. 

IN  1656,  John  Eliot.  thesApostle  to  the  Indians, 
appealed  to  the  Commissioners  of  the  United  Colo- 
nies for  the  appointment  of  some  agents  "in  the 
"  Massachusetts  to  promote  anclfonvard  the  worke 
"among  the  Indians;  both  in  respect  of  theire 
'  '  gourmcnt  &Incurriging  meet  Instruments  or  their 
"  further  healp  and  Instruction."  The  Commission- 
ers, conceiving  the  said  Indians  to  belong  to  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Massachusetts,  referred  the 
matter,  with  power,  to  the  wisdom  and  care  of 
that  government. 

The  next  topic  of  consideration  is  so  graphical- 
ly stated  in  the  Act  by  which  it  was  disposed  of, 
as  to  need  no  further  comment  by  way  of  intro- 
duction. The  reader  may  refer  it  to  any  branch 
of  the  "  Indian  worke  "  of  that  generation  which 
he  may  "thiiike  uieete." 

d  YX/"HERAS  it  was  prsented  to  the  Co- 
**  "  missioners  by  Mr  hollihock  of 
"  Sprinkfield  that  Mastiffe  Doggs  might 
"  bee  of  good  vse  against  the  Indians  in 
"case  of  any  desturbance  from  them  which 
"they  Reddily  apprehending  thought  meet 
"  to  comend  the  same  to  the  seuerail 
"  Generall  Courts  to  take  care  and  make 
"  prouision  thereof  accordingly."  —  Ply- 
mouth Colony  Records,  x.,  168  ;  Hazard^  ii., 

359- 


A  marginal  note  in  the  Plymouth  Colony  Records 
is — "this  to  be  propounded  to  our  Court." 
Doubtless  the  "severall  Generall  Courts"  did  act 
•with  due  promptness  and  discretion  in  the  prem- 
ises, but  we  find  no  traces  in  the  published 
records  of  any  separate  action  at  that  time.  It 
had  been  the  practice  previously  for  the  town  au- 
at  any  rate  not  restricted  to  the  particular  towns. 
Whether  the  "Hunt  Serjeant'1'1  was  the  highest  in 
command,  when  the  "hunt  was  up,"  is  a  question 
which  we  are  unable  to  solve,  and  must  refer  to 
those  who  have  access  to  the  original  documents 
in  the  Archives  of  the  State.  We  have  heard  Mr. 
Bancroft  speak  of  having  met  with  accounts  of 
parties  going  out  against  the  Indians,  "double- 
"  doyged." 

We  have  met  with  a  L,TW  of  the  Province  ' '  con- 
"  corning  dogs,"  which  is  interesting  .and  perhaps 
unique  in  the  history  of  American  Legislation — 
although  it  may  have  its  parallel  in  later  provis- 
ions of  Southern  Codes  for  improvement  of  the 
means  of  hunting  for  fugitive  slaves.  It  was 
passed  at  the  October  Session  of  the  Great  and  Gen- 
eral Court,  1706  ;  and  appears  among  the  printed 
Laws  of  that  period. 

The  first  Act  of  the  Session  was  "  An  Act  for 
"  Maintaining  and  Propagating  of  Religion." 
It  re-inforccd,  by  suitable  enactments,  the  previous 
laws  for  securing  to  all  the  towns  in  the  Province, 
an  "able,  learned  and  orthodox "  ministry,  witli 
a  view  to  rendering  the  said  Laws  more  effectual, 
thoritics  to  procure  hounds  for  the  use  and  at  the 
expense  of  the  towns.  The  object  was  to  improve 
all  means  for  the  destruction  of  wolves;  and  no 
dog  could  be  kept  without  the  approbation  of 
the  Selectmen,  who  were  also  authorized  to  quart- 
er the  town  dogs  on  any  of  the  inhabitants  they 
should  choose,  excepting  Magistrates,  who  could 


keep  dogs  of  their  oven  or  decline  to  board  the 

public  dogs,  at  their  pleasure. 
From  the  character  of  the  proposition  of    '  '  Mr. 

"hollihock,"  it  is  apparent  that  the  use  of  their 
hounds  against  Indians,  was  a  novelty  in  1G56  — 
at  any  rate  was  not  a  general  custom,  however 
successful  it  might  have  been  previously  in  private 
practice.  There  is  no  room  for  doubt,  however, 
that  the  suggestion  was  "  improved,"  or  that  these 
four-footed  auxiliaries  played  an  important  part 
in  the  long  Indian  Wars  which  fill  so  much  of  the 
Colonial  and  Provincial  history  of  the  Country. 

The  business  was  reduced  to  a  system,  and  an 
organization  is  indicated,  in  subsequent  legisla- 
tion, which  employed  officers  whose  jurisdiction 
appears  to  have  been  general  in  the  Frontiers,  or 
and  "to  prevent  the  gro-\yth  of  Atheism,  Irrelig- 
"  ion  and  Prophaneness."' 

On  the  next  page  —  barely  separated  from  the 
foregoing  by  a  brief  Act  to  revive  a  former  Statute 
to  protect  her  Majesty's  soldiers  and  seamen  from 
Arrest  for  debt,  etc  —  is  the  following  : 

An  Act  for  the  Eaising  &  Increase 
of  Dogs,  for  the  better  Security 
of  the  Frontiers. 


upon  Try  at  lately  made  of 
Range  ing  and  Scouring  the  Woods  on 
the  Frontiers,  with  Hounds  and  other  Dogs 
used  to  Hunting,  It  has  proved  of  great 
Service  to  discourage  and  keep  off  the  In- 
dians, 

For  Encouragement  therefore  to  Raise 


and  Train  up  a  greater  number   of  Dogs, 
to  be  improved. 


it  35uacteS  fy>$)is  lExcellennj 
tije  Cobernmir,  (JTmmcil  antr  1£ep^ 
resentatibes,  tit  (General  (Bourt 
Essemfcletr,  an$  fcg  tlje  Eutijoritg 

Of  tljC  Same,  That  such  Person 
and  Persons  living  in  any  of  the  Frontiers 
within  this  Province,  who  shall  take, 
keep  and  raise  up  any  Whelp  of  the 
breed  of  the  Hounds,  and  have  them 
at  all.  times  in  readiness  to  attend  the 
Hunt  Serjeant,  or  others  improved  in 
that  Service,  when  they  shall  Come 
to  such  Town,  and  require  the  same, 
shall  be  allowed  and  paid  out  of  the 
Publick  Treasury  the  Sum  of  Five  Shi/lings 
Per  Annum,  in  consideration  of  their  care 
and  charge,  for  the  raising  and  keeping  of 
every  such  Dog.  A  Certificate  thereof 
from  year  to  year  to  be  transmitted  to  the 
Commissary  General,  under  the  hands  of 
the  Commission  Military  Officers,  and  the 
Town  Clerk  of  such  Town. 

Provided,  This  Act  shall  continue  in 
force  for  the  space  of  three  years  next 
coming,  if  the  War  with  the  Indians  last 
long,  and  not  afterwards. 

October  l*t  1807.  E.  Y.  E. 


IX. 
GOUVERNEUR    MORRIS. 

A    FRAGMENT. 
BY    THE    LATE 

JOHN  W.  FRANCIS,  LL.D. 


NOTE. 

Tms  article,  mostly  written  daring  the  last  sickness  of  its 
distinguished  author,  was  his  last  work  on  earth.  It  was 
still  unfinished  when  he  was  removed  by  death;  and  it  did 
not  reach  us  until  the  places  which  had  known  him  so  long, 
knew  him  no  longer. 

The  circumstances  under  which  it  was  written  will 
account  for  some  errors  which  will  readily  be  corrected  by 
the  historical  critic.  It  is  only  remarkable  that  the  venera- 
ble Author's  memory  was  so  little  impaired  by  age  and 
sickness.  We  print  it  here,  that  others  may  share  in  our 
satisfaction  with  this  valued  memento  of  our  departed 
friend 

HENET  B.  DAWSON. 

MOEEISANIA,  N.  Y.,  1868. 


GOUVERNEUR  MORRIS. 


NEW  YORK,  Nov.  17,  1860. 

HENRY  B.  DAWSON,   ESQ.,  Author  of  The  Sons 
of  Liberty  of  New  York,  &c. 

DEAR  SIR: — 

My  conviction  of  your  earnest  desire,  as  a 
searcher  after  truth,  to  record  faithfully  the  events 
of  American  history,  is  derived  not  only  from 
your  published  writings,  but  from  the  opinions 
which  you  lately  expressed  touching  the  respon- 
sibilities of  the  historian.  I  was  gratified  to  learn 
the  high  opinion  you  have  formed  of  the  talents 
and  services  of  the  late  Gouverneur  Morris.  That 
renowned  man  was  distinguished  by  remarkable 
qualities,  and  must  ever  hold  a  prominent  place 
in  our  annals  ;  and  among  his  contemporaries  he 
was  looked  upon  with  admiration  and  esteem. 
He  has  long  since  passed  away  from  the  scenes  of 
active  life  in  which  he  bore  so  conspicuous  a  part, 
yet  the  few  remaining  survivors  that  witnessed  his 
career  still  retain  the  strongest  impression  of  his 
heroic  character.  Identified  with  several  of  the 
most  momentous  events  of  our  Colonial  Histoiy, 
associated  with  the  Provincial  Congress,  the  Gene- 
ral Congress,  in  measures  connected  with  the 
Revolutionary  Congress,  with  the  finances  of  the 


e 


country,  abroad  as  Minister  at  the  Court  of  France, 
with  his  subsequent  career  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  he  cannot  be  contemplated  without 
reverence  to  his  patriotism  and  an  exalted  esti- 
mate of  his  public  services.  He  had  a  most  im- 
pressive personal  appearance:  few  men  ever 
equalled  his  commanding  bearing:  while  his 
superb  physical  organization  enlisted  attention, 
his  strong  intellectual  expression  manifested  the 
man  of  thought  and  capacity.  His  talents  were 
acknowledged  by  all :  with  some  his  political 
principles  were  deemed  too  aristocratic  for  a  re- 
public. But  he  was  a  Son  of  Liberty  ;  the  genius 
of  American  freedom  was  born  with  him  and 
nurtured  by  his  studies  and  his  labors.  The 
closest  scrutiny  into  his  principles  develops  the 
philosophy  of  great  deeds  only  for  the  benefit  of 
the  social  compact  and  to  advance  the  interests  of 
society  at  large.  Among  the  great  features  of  his 
character  was  his  frank  utterance  of  opinion,  and 
his  readiness  on  all  fitting  occasions  to  dedicate  his 
powers  to  the  furtherance  of  salutary  objects.  He 
justly  boasted  of  having  drawn  up  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States ;  but  he  was  no  less  proud  of 
having  been  an  effective  agent  with  Clinton, 
Fulton,  and  others  hi  the  early  development  and 
promotion  of  the  Canal  policy  of  the  State  of 
New  York.  Our  gratitude  toward  him  is  fur- 
ther enhanced  when  we  consider  how  strenuous 
were  his  efforts  to  improve  the  physical  condition 
and  local  advantages  enjoyed  by  nature  for  the 
now  metropolitan  city  of  the  Union.  The  portrait 
of  him  painted  by  Ames  is  not  to  be  looked  upon 
with  indiffence,  but  it  needs  a  grander  and  a 
loftier  port,  and  a  more  vivacious  and  penetrating 
eye. 

His  mental  attributes  were  of  an  elevated  order 
and  of  a  wide  range.     He  was  classical,  and,  like 


all  men  of  active  pursuits  whom  I  have  known, 
when  enriched  with  scholarship,  delighted  in 
Horace.  The  more  immediate  object  of  his  life 
after  his  retirement  at  Morrisania  was  the  cultiva- 
tion of  husbandry ;  arboriculture  and  the  rearing 
of  flocks.  He  was  eminently  an  enlightened  prac- 
tical farmer,  seeking  health  and  the  gratification 
of  his  love  of  nature  amid  rural  scenery.  His 
great  mental  resource  was  history;  the  rise 
and  fall  of  nations,  the  biography  of  states- 
men and  philosophers,  and  the  records  of  the 
services  of  the  explorers  in  science  and  the  arts. 
In  many  of  his  investigations  he  kept  pace  with 
the  progressive  march  of  physical  knowledge  and 
domestic  economy,  and  had  studied  with  atten- 
tion the  theories  set  forth  in  medical  literature. 
In  the  mechanical  arts  he  displayed  a  research  that 
often  excited  the  wonder  of  the  professed  artisan. 
Though  of  lofty  bearing  his  intercourse  with  in- 
telligence even  among  the  most  humble  excited  the 
admiration  of  every  beholder:  a  disquisition  on 
tanning,  an  exposition  of  the  philosophy  of  the 
chronometer,  on  the  shoeing  of  horses,  or  other 
incidental  circumstance  might  awaken  new  zeal  in 
the  minds  of  those  with  whom  he  might  be  in 
converse.  He  was  ever  for  progress,  and  though 
like  Burke  he  was  thus  disciplined,  and  could 
discuss  with  profitable  issues  the  arts  and 
sciences,  he  had  kindlier  feelings  towards  his 
friend  Robert  Fulton  than  the  great  Irish  orator 
evinced  towards  the  greater  engineer,  James  "Watt. 
The  prolific  theme  of  his  conversation,  however, 
was  the  story  of  the  American  Colonies,  their 
struggle  for  freedom,  and  the  triumphs  of  their 
revolt.  He  cherished  an  almost  unbounded  confi- 
fidence  in  the  mental  capacity  and  energy  of  a  na- 
tion sprung  from  a  cosmopolitan  origin.  "The 
' '  crossing  of  the  race, "  he  was  wont  to  say,  "  is  the 


8 


"  salvation  of  the  intellectual  powers  of  a  people." 
Few  more  practical  expositions  than  he  delivered 
could  be  given  by  any  one  on  the  art  of  cookery. 
He  was  an  adept  in  all  its  mysteries,  and  his 
views  of  its  importance  to  health  and  longevity 
might  arouse  to  new  desires  the  faculties  of  the 
most  fastidious  epicure.  Had  the  organization  of  a 
new  College  fallen  to  his  lot  he  might  have  created 
therein'more  Professors  of  the  art  of  Cookery  than 
of  the  dead  languages.  Fertile  and  discursive  as 
was  his  imagination,  enriched  too  with  the  graces 
of  elegant  letters,  lost  as  at  times,  as  he  might 
seem,  in  ingenious  speculations  or  recondite  enqui- 
ries, the  bent  of  his  intellectual  powers  was  mainly 
directed  to  the  useful  and  the  practical,  and  a 
listless  hearer  might  not  discover  how  felicitously 
he  blended  the  overflowings  of  fancy  with  in- 
ductive reasoning  and  practical  science.  Nor 
were  these  engaging  powers  of  his  mind  the  re- 
sults of  mere  reading :  he  was  a  close  observer,  and 
in  France  and  in  England  had  witnessed  with  his 
own  eyes  the  complex  workings  of  the  loom,  and 
the  spindle,  and  the  manufacturing  establishments 
of  Britain.  While  Minister  in  France,  when  re- 
leased from  State  affaire,  he  was  a  devoted  stu- 
dent of  that  vast  body  of  physical  science  and 
mechanical  philosophy  found  in  the  pages  of  the 
French  Encyclopedia  ;  and  the  copy  which  he 
then  possessed,  by  his  generosity,  is  now  to  be 
seen  in  the  library  of  the  New  York  Historical 
Society. 

I  will  trespass  a  moment  in  giving  you  an  an- 
ecdote illustrative  of  his  innate  courage  and  his 
generous  nature.  In  1780,  then  residing  in  Phil- 
adelphia, while  riding  out,  an  accident  occurred 
to  his  carriage,  which  fractured  the  vehicle  and 
his  left  leg.  He  was  conveyed  home,  and  a  con- 
sultation with  several  of  the  most  eminent  of  the 


9 


faculty  was  forthwith   held.     The  decision,   at 
that  period  of  surgical  science,  was  the  amputa: 
tion  of  the  limb.     He  heard  the  report  with  great 
calmness,   and  was  soon   ready  to  submit.     In 
casting  his  eyes  about  his  chamber,  he  remarked, 
'  Gentlemen,  I  see  around  me  the  eminent  men  of 
'  your  profession,  all  acknowledged  competent  to 
'  the  performance  of  the  operation.    You  have  al- 
'  ready  secured  renown,  the  capital  by  which  you 
'  live.  Now  the  removal  of  my  leg  cannot  add  to 
'  your  celebrity ;  is  there  not  one  among  you  younger 
'  in  your  calling  who  might  perform  the  act,  and 
'  thus  secure  the  eclat  for  his  benefit  ?"      Young 
Hutchenson  was  pointed  out.   "  I  will  select  him," 
uttered  Morris,  "  let  him  rise  to  fame  by  amputa- 
"  ting  the  leg  of  Gouvemeur  Morris."    The  opera- 
tion by  Hutchenson  giving  entire  satisfaction,  sev- 
eral remarked  in  approbation  of  the  skill  that  had 
been  displayed  and  on  the  beauty  of  the  stump. 
' '  You  speak  so  eloquently, "  added  Morris,  ' '  would 
"it not  be  advantageous  to  remove  the  other  limb? 
"we might  then  have  a  brace." 

His  conversational  talents  were  of  the  most 
captivating  and  instructive  quality.  His  vigorous 
imagination  impaited  interest  to  the  humblest 
subject,  while  the  force  and  beauty  of  his  diction 
led  captive  the  listener.  He  had  cultivated  this 
power  by  his  close  reading  of  the  great  writers  of 
classical  English,  Shakespeare  and  Addison,  John- 
son and  Chatham.  I  had  known  the  man  from 
March,  1804,  when  I  was  u  l>oy,  and  he  was  first 
pointed  out  to  me  by  an  eminent  Editor,  who, 
while  in  my  engagement  with  him,  hurried  me  to 
his  office  door  with  the  exclamation,  '•  Boy,  behold 
"  that  man  witht.he  wooden  leg,  now  opposite,  and 
' '  near  Wall-street;  a  great  man,"  added  he, ' '  Gouv- 
"  erneur  Morris."  Years  after,  it  was  my  fortunoof- 
ten  to  enjoy  his  society,  in  business  or  in  the  douies- 
2 


10 


tic  circle.  He  never  departed  from  his  greatness  in 
my  eyes  :  and  I  felt  that  reverence  for  him  that  that 
noble  band  of  patriots  of  whom  he  was  one,  ever 
fostered.  I  believe  my  acquaintance  with  the 
original  Canal  Board  embraced  the  entire  commis- 
sion. With  Morris,  Eddy,  and  Livingston,  I  was 
oftenest  present.  Repeated  interviews  of  this 
nature  had  rendered  the  atmosphere  of  repulsion 
which  sometimes  surrounded  Mr.  Morris  less  diffi- 
cult of  approach.  His  narrative  of  the  Canal  of 
Languedoc,  his  account  of  the  waters  of  Marie,  his 
geology  of  Western  New  York,  his  trials  and  pri- 
vations with  his  associates  on  his  exploring  tour 
as  Canal  Commissioner,  his  interviews  with  Je- 
mima Wilkinson,  are  among  the  topics  that  have 
left  the  strongest  impression  on  my  memory.  While 
his  taste  was  that  of  the  scrupulous  gastronome, 
he  was  moderate  in  his  drinks,  and  he  gave  me 
the  best  idea  I  ever  had  of  the  temperance  of 
Thomas  Jefferson. 

When  he  spoke  he  expected  the  listening  ear. 
On  a  certain  occasion  he  had  entered  on  a  dispu- 
tatious subject,  when  perceiving  the  attention 
of  his  hearers  beginning  to  flag,  he  suddenly 
ejaculated,  "I  shall  address  the  teapot,"  and  he 
accordingly  closed  his  argument  with  that  silent 
representative.  It  was  an  effective  veto  on  all 
interruption. 

He  was  impatient  at  trifling,  and  was  prompt  at 
reproof.  I  was  seated  near  his  little  boy,  at 
the  dining  table,  on  the  day  I  think  when  he  had 
delivered  his  discourse  on  the  Restoration  of  the 
Bourbons.  In  measured  accents  I  asked  the  intelli- 
gent little  fellow  if  he  had  read  the  story  of  Jack 
the  Giant-killer.  "  Tell  the  Doctor,  my  son,"  in- 
terposed Mr.  Morris,  "your  studies  are  Gustavus 
"Adolphus  and  Charles  the  Twelfth  of  Sweden." 
I  need  not  add,  I  was  withered.  Morris  however 


11 


was  full  of  kindly  feelings  :  he  often  manifested 
this  humane  tendency  by  his  inquiries  concerning 
matters  promotive  of  national  or  personal  affairs. 
He  was  at  times  caustically  severe  on  what  in 
more  modern  language  are  called  Yankee  Notions. 
He  had  little  chanty  for  the  mere  religious 
formalist,  and  could  endure  but  with  impatience 
the  axioms  of  the  puritanical  proselyte.  Yet  he 
possessed  the  religious  element ;  and  the  mellowed 
reflections  of  my  riper  years  have  brought  me  to 
the  conclusion  that  he  felt  the  force  and  necessity 
of  Christian  obligation,  and  estimated  the  more 
highly  the  individual  influenced  by  it.  His  wide 
knowledge  of  men  and  things  had  well  taught 
him  the  difference  between  profession  and  pos- 
session. 

While  the  most  lowly  incident  might  at- 
tract his  notice,  he  delighted  in  great  occur- 
rences and  in  classical  imagery.  Every  one  who 
is  familiar  with  his  speeches,  is  apprized  of  his 
impressive  appeals  to  heaven  and  Almighty  God 
on  occasions  when  his  feelings  were  wrought  to 
their  highest  pitch.  What  a  psychological  service 
had  been  performed  were  he  and  Edward  Ever- 
ett to  have  had  the  keen  encounter,  or  to  have 
coalesced  on  some  mighty  topic ! 

Gouverneur  Morris  is  to  be  enumerated  among 
the  "strong"  men  of  the  memorable  era  in  which 
he  flourished.  As  an  orator  he  unquestionably  fills 
a  place  in  the  rank  which  contains  Hamilton  and 
Chancellor  Livingston.  Conscious  knowledge 
and  his  undaunted  courage  were  the  main  support 
of  his  oratorical  power.  He  dealt  with  princi- 
ples rather  than  with  details  :  these  he  had  forti- 
fied himself  with,  ere  he  appeared  at  the  foram  or 
in  the  hall  ;  and,  unlike  Burke,  he  never  allowed 
his  audience  to  become  weary  or  indifferent. 
His  memory  was  tenacious  and  ready  on  an  erner- 


12 


gency.  He  was  voluble  in  utterance,  and  pos- 
sc--*sjd  the  ore  rotunda  more  happily  than  any 
other  speaker  I  have  ever  listened  to  :  he  was  free 
from  eccentricities  ;  yet  characterized  by  strong 
peculiarities.  His  voice  was  clear,  full,  harmon- 
ious ;  his  diction  straightforward :  he  was  free 
of  the  raucous  tone  of  Chalmers,  and  of  Brough- 
am, and  our  Emmet :  he  was  rarely  obscure — he 
could  not  be  wearisome.  If  he  sometimes  faiLd 
of  the  intensity  of  Webster  he  won  admiration  by 
his  felicitous  diction.  He  could  scarcely  descend 
to  the  playfulness  of  Clay.  If  he  lacked  at  times 
the  outbursts  of  the  classical  Francis  Stoner,  he 
escaped  the  difficulties  which  sometimes  an- 
noyed that  masterly  rhetorician.  He  was  bold 
in  the  avowal  of  his  sentiments,  though  it  might 
prove  disadvantageous  to  his  popularity.  The 
quickened  sensibilities  of  his,nature  on  questions 
of  the  gravest  interest  may  sometiaies  have  given 
birth  to  expressions  which  niaturer  reflection 
would  have  suppressed.  Thus,  in  his  speech  on 
the  Judiciary,  delivered  in  February,  1801,  in  the 
warmth  of  his  oratory,  amid  the  most  substantial 
reasonings,  after  reminding  the  House  of  the 
dangers  to  which  popular  governments  are  exposed, 
from  the  influence  of  designing  demagogues  upon 
popular  passion,  "I  take  the  liberty  to  add,"  says 
he, "  that  we.  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  areas- 
"  sembled  here  to  save  the  people  from  their 
' '  most  dangerous  enemy,  to  save  them  from  them- 
"  selves,  to  guard  them  against  the  baneful  effects 
"  of  their  own  precipitation,  their  passion,  their 
"misguided  zeal."  Sound  as  the  principle 
may  have  been,  and  felt  to  be  pregnant,  truth  by 
Mori  is  as  a  deep  and  experienced  Statesman,  how 
often  in  my  earlier  days  have  I  heard  those  memo- 
rable words,  "  The  People,  their  own  worst  enemy," 
echoed  aloud  in  assemblies,  and  reiterated  in  the 


13 


public  streets  to  the  detriment  of  this  enlightened 
patriot.  But  Morris  through  his  whole  life  felt 
superior  to  popular  clamor.  I  have  a  firm  recol- 
lection of  the  eclat  with  which  his  memorable 
speech  on  the  Navigation  of  the  Mississippi  was 
received  in  this  city,  in  1803.  Its  reading  dis- 
closes the  richness  of  his  language  and-the  capa- 
bilities of  his  parliamentary  powers.  In  this,  his 
last  great  public  effort  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  imagination  and  reasoning  seem  to  hold 
dalliance,  while  the  noblest  patriotism  pervades  the 
entire  composition. 

But  let  us  come  nearer  home,  to  the  period 
when  Mr.  Morris  had  left  public  life  at  Washing- 
ton, and  become  a  fixed  resident  at  Morrisania, 
the  place  of  his  birth.  At  this  beautiful  retreat 
he  passed  nearly  the  entire  residue  of  his  life,  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  affairs,  in  the  study  of  his- 
tory, and  in  works  of  practical  science.  Here 
he  maintained  that  elegant  hospitality  with  his 
distinguished  political  friends  and  men  of  renown 
that  made  a  visit  at  his  mansion  almost  an  era  in 
the  fortunate  individual's  life,  who  had  partaken 
of  his  intellectual  repast.  Nor  did  the  public 
occurrences  of  the  day  transpire  unheeded  by  him. 
I  have  already  adverted  to  his  zeal  and  ability 
with  Clinton,  in  giving  countenance  and  support 
to  the  Canal  policy  of  the  State.  He  was  often 
summoned  to  give  his  ad  vice  on  public  affairs,  and 
was  ever  ready  to  assume  responsibility  on  events  of 
moment.  Little  more  than  a  year  had  elapsed 
from  his  settlement  at  Morrisnnia  ere  he  was  called 
to  pronounce  a  funeral  address  on  his  beloved 
Hamilton,  whose  unexpected  death  and  its  man- 
ner had  awakened  the  community  to  universal 
lamentation.  I  had  witnessed  the  solemn  obse- 
quies to  the  memory  of  Washington.  I  could 
not  now  fail  to  be  of  the  multitude  who  were  to 


14 

do  homage  to  his  compatriot  in  arms  and  in  coun- 
sel, the  illustrious  Hamilton.  Never  \vas  grief 
more  strongly  depicted  on  every  countenance, 
never  had  sonow  sunk  deeper  in  every  heart  than 
on  the  occasion  of  his  death.  During  that  sad 
and  memorable  day  of  a  nation's  loss.  I  found 
myself  amidst  the  groups  of  afflicted  citizens 
formed  at  almost  every  coiner  of  the  streets  : 
some  lost  in  the  magnitude  of  the  calamity ; 
others  loud  in  execrations  of  the  perpetrator  of  the 
fatal  deed.  Sile'nce  reigned  in  every  place  of 
business,  and  the  heavens  themselves  seemed  to 
wear  a  gloomy  aspect.  In  my  journeyings  to  and 
fro  I  obtained  a  place  near  the  feet  of  Mr.  Morris, 
on  the  steps  of  the  portico  of  old  Trinity,  while 
the  orator  delivered  his  brief  but  effective  dis- 
course over  the  dead  body  of  the  great  patriot. 
It  was  the  first  time  I  heard  the  great  speaker. 
His  sensibilities  and  his  powers  were  manifested 
around  me ;  his  own  countenance  was  suffused 
with  grief,  while  every  eye  of  the  crowded  multi- 
tude was  bedewed  with  tears.  I  saw  many  unable 
to  preserve  an  erect  posture,  and  several  indivi- 
duals, with  whom  I  became  better  acquainted  in 
after  life,  as  Colonel  Troup,  Colonel  Fish,  Judge 
Pendleton,  Coleman,  the  editorial  eulogist  of 
Hamilton,  and  others,  sobbing  aloud  in  anguish. 
His  utterance  at  first  seemed  broken  and  suppress- 
ed ;  but  his  powers  rose  as  he  advanced  in  the 
performance  of  his  sacred  duty ;  his  affectionate 
principles  kindled  with  increased  strength,  and  as 
if  an  angel  spoke,  the  tokens  of  his  love  and  de- 
votion overwhelmed  every  heart.  Even  at  this 
remote  day  none  can  read  that  address,  brief  as 
it  is,  without  wonder  at  its  copiousness.  The 
severest  critic  will  find  in  it  the  embodiment  of  the 
delicious  consolations  of  the  burial  service,  in  lan- 
guage perhaps  little  inferior  in  pregnant  thought 


15 


and  elevation  of  diction.  In  addressing  the  vast 
assemblage  at  his  commencement,  he  had  said, 
'  Far  from  exciting  your  emotions,  I  must  try  to 
'  repress  my  own,  and  yet,  I  fear,  that  instead  of 
'  the  language  of  a  public  speaker,  you  will  hear 
'  only  the  lamentations  of  a  wailing  friend.  But 
'  I  will  struggle  with  my  bursting  heart  to  portray 
4  that  heroic  spirit  which  has  flown  to  the  mansions 
'  of  bliss."  He  proved  more  than  conqueror. 

With  my  fondness  to  witness  the  performances 
of  extraordinary  men,  whether  in  the  pulpit,  at 
the  bar,  on  the  stage,  or  in  the  oratorical  hall,  I 
was  fortunate  to  be  of  the  listener  to  each  dis- 
course which  Gouverueur  Morris  subsequently  de- 
livered. His  addresses  before  our  New  York  Histo- 
rical Society  have  added  to  the  renown  imparted 
to  that  institution  by  Clint  >n  and  Verplanck, 
Jarvis,  Hosack,  and  Kent.  His  laudations  exalt 
the  attributes  of  our  Dutch  ancestors ;  his  praise 
of  history,  ancient  and  modern,  holds  out  the 
strongest  persuasives  to  its  study ;  and  the  religious 
element  for  the  government  of  man  is  enforced 
with  the  zeal  of  a  sacred  expositor.  His  address 
on  the  restoration  of  the  Bourbons  in  France,  in 
1814  is  yet  well  remembered  by  the  survivors  of 
that  audience  that  were  present  on  that  special  oc- 
casion. Many  of  its  passages  are  repeated  at  this 
very  day.  He  never  appeared  as  a  speaker  to 
greater  advantage.  He  had  been  an  eye-witness 
to  many  of  the  early  scenes  of  the  French  Revo- 
lution ;  in  his  sylvan  retreat  he  had  made  a  study 
of  Napoleon ;  the  Conqueror  conquered  was  a 
theme  congenial  with  the  best  utterances  of  his 
heart ;  his  aristocratic  bearing,  his  sonorous 
voice,  his  convictions  and  the  fulness  of  his  sub- 
ject, produced  an  effect  no  less  rare  than  prodigi- 
ous. The  tribute  he  paid  to  the  patriotic 
George  Clinton,  who  holds  so  prominent  a  place 


16 


in  the  War  of  the  Revolution  and  in  our  State  Go- 
vernment as  the  dauntless  soldier  and  wise  states- 
man, was  only  another  demonstration  of  the  ex- 
alted estimate  he  possessed  of  that  incorruptible 
hero  and  virtuous  character.  The  sympathies  of 
friendship  were  strong  indeed  between  Morris  and 
Clinton,  and  brief  as  is  the  notice  by  Morris  of  the 
extraordinary  services  of  the  old  Governor,  it  will 
be  appreciated  as  a  precious  memoir  of  the  re- 
nowned man. 

After  what  I  have  thus  briefly  said,  do  you 
ask  then  what  were  the  elements  of  this  great 
man's  oratorical  power  ?  Inward  conviction  and 
a  fearless  and  energetic  utterance.  There  was  a 
purpose  in  his  design,  and  as  an  earnest  man  his 
words  were  the  words  of  earnestness.  His  yearn- 
ings sprung  from  the  love  of  country. 

There  is  a  circumstance  in  the  life  of  this  great 
man  which  deserves  a  passing  notice,  and  con- 
cerning which  I  will  say  a  few  words.  With  all 
his  affluence  he  seemed  to  have  had  little  to  do  with 
the  fashion  of  the  day.  His  intercourse  with  the 
men  of  the  age,  the  patriots  of  the  Revolution  and 
the  statesmen  who  had  acted  with  him,  was  of 
the  most  cordial  nature,  and  I  believe  there  was 
hardly  an  exception  to  this  warm  attachment 
which  he  cherished  for  his  contemporaries,  noi 
was  it  once  checkered  by  reverse.  His  corres- 
pondence with  Washington  speaks  for  itself.  His 
love  for  Hamilton  we  have  already  noticed ;  with 
Jay  and  Rufus  King  the  intercourse  maintained 
was  that  of  warmly  attached  friends.  He  has 
told  us  of  his  admiration  of  Robert  Fulton,  and 
of  his  appreciation  of  De  Witt  Clinton.  His  full 
knowledge  and  variety,  with  his  undaunted  con- 
fidence, rendered  him  the  autocrat  of  the  social 
board.  The  practical  sciences  had  fallen  within 
the  scope  of  his  studies,  and  his  auecdotical  fund 


17 


was  ready  at  command.  He  won  esteem  for  his 
intellect ;  he  contributed  knowledge  without 
parsimony.  The  happy  line  which  Johnson  ap- 
plied to  Goldsmith,  might  not  inaptly  be  cited  in 
behalf  of  Morris's  conversational  talents  : 

"Nihiltetigit,  quodnon  ornavit" 

You  will  pardon  me  if  I  add  one  other  anec- 
dote illustrative  of  that  pungent  manner  which  Mr. 
Morris  so  dexterously  employed  on  some  occasions. 
He  never  did  anything  by  halves.     A  soiree  of 
the  savants  of  the  city  had  been  convened,  at  the 
house  of  Doctor  Hosack,  composed  of  divines,  law- 
yers, doctors,  and  others  of  renown.     Mr.  Morris 
was  of  the  number.     The  evening  hour  of  ap- 
pointment had  passed  over  some  forty  or  fifty 
minutes,  when  the  host  hurried  in,  apologizing  for 
his  absence,  and  giving  as  an  apology  that  he  had 
been  engaged  with  his  friend,  Doctor  Williamson, 
in  forming  a  Philosophical  Society.     "Well,  Doc- 
'  tor,"  says  Morris,   "  that's  no  difficult  matter." 
'But  Mr.  Morris,"  rejoined  Hosack,  "  we  have 
'  formed  a  Philosophical  Society,  adopted  a  Con- 
'  stitudon,  By-laws,  and  selected  our  prominent 
'  officers."    "All  that,"  observed  Morris,  "  is  no 
'difficult  matter  ;  but  pray,  Doctor,  where  are  the 
'  philosophers  ?"      Silence  followed  the  interro- 
gatory, succeeded  by  a  hearty  laugh. 

Among  your  queries  you  ask  for  information 
as  to  the  observations  which  Mr.  Morris  made  con- 
cerning the  consequences  which  sprung  out  of  the 
memorable  trial  of  John  Peter  Zenger. 

The  account  I  communicated  to  the  Historical 
Society,  at  their  fortieth  Anniversary  Meeting,  in 
1844,  was  literally  correct.  Years  before,  1812, 
Mr.  Morris,  as  Vice  President  and  in  the  absence 
of  De  Witt  Clinton,  presided.  I  had  drawn  up 
a  Report,  as  Librarian  of  the  Society  ;  which  was 
3 


18 


submitted  to  Mr.  Morris,  who  read  it,  and  was 
signally  gratified  when  I  informed  him  that  the 
library  embraced  a  large  collection  of  the  news- 
papers of  the  Colonial  period,  among  others,  Brad- 
ford's and  the  Journal  of  Zenger.      Morris  di- 
lated largely  on  the  importance  of  preserving 
newspapers.  "They are, "said he,  "  the  most  faith- 
'  f  ul  materials  on  which  we  can  ever  rely  f  or  Ameri- 
'  can  history.  The  newspaper  press  is  endeared  to 
'  the  f  eelings  of  Americans,  by  the  strongest  con- 
1  sideration  of  patriotism.      The  free  strictures 
'  on  the  administration  of  Governor  Cosby  and  his 
'  Council,  printed  in  the  Weekly  Journal  of  the 
'  city  of  New  York,  by  John  Peter  Zenger,  roused 
'  the  energies  of  a  whole  people  ;  the  trial  of 
'  Zenger  in  1736,  was  the  germ  of  American  f  ree- 
'  dom  ;  the  morning  star  of  that  liberty  which 
'  subsequently  revolutionized  America."  The  fact, 
as  I  have  stated,  has  been  repeatedly  made  use 
of  by  our  historical  writers  ;  and  the  acquittal  of 
Zenger  is  dwelt  upon  as    a   pregnant  circum- 
stance,   in    Butler's    discourse.      Our  American 
historian,  Doctor  Bancroft,  seems  to  place  the  in- 
cident in  a  qualified  light ;  but  I  have  not  with 
my  limited  sources  of  knowledge  been  able  to  find 
any  contemporaneous  event  throughout  the  col- 
onies.    I  feel  entire  confidence  in  the  official  doc- 
uments published  by  Dunlap,  and  hi  the  animad- 
versions of  the  late  Chancellor  Kent. 

The  little  that  I  have  been  able  to  collect  con- 
cerning Zenger  tends  to  prove  the  opinion  that 
he  was  an  intelligent  man,  of  an  heroic  spirit,  and 
something  of  a  musical  genius.  The  ladies  will 
not  think  the  less  of  him  when  they  know  that  he 
imported  the  first  harpsichord,  now  transformed 
into  the  piano,  in  this  city. 

The  physical  temperament  and  mental  energies 
of  Mr.  Morris  were  preserved  with  uniform  abili- 


19 


ty  to  the  very  end  of  his  life.  The  same  muscu- 
lar tone,  the  same  exuberance  of  feeling,  the 
same  prompt  and  active  display  of  intellectual 
resources  were  all  in  harmony,  and  never  forsook 
him  or  abated  of  their  function.  Up  to  near  the 
moment  of  his  final  departure,  his  enlarged  views 
and  broad  conception  of  tilings  held  their  charac- 
teristics. I  am  grieved  to  say  that  his  great  con- 
fidence of  the  safety  of  his  medical  practice  in 
his  own  case  was  a  leading  cause  of  the  infirmity 
which  took  him  from  us  in  the  fulness  of  his 
powers.  Pie  had  written  some  time  previous  an 
interesting  letter  on  the  acid  formations  of  gout, 
addressed  to  his  friend  and  physician,  Doctor  Ho- 
sack  :  but  he  seems  not  to  have  been  fully  aware 
that  in  some  cases  the  gouty  diathesis  is  sadly 
detrimental  to  local  disease.  When  informed  of 
his  approaching  end,  he  received  the  intelligence 
with  philosophical  composure,  sustained  by  reli- 
gious belief.  He  had  been  explicit  on  that  ab- 
sorbing subject.  He  had  declared  a  short  while 
before  in  an  historical  discourse,  that  he  regarded 
religious  principles  as  necessary  to  national  inde- 
pendence and  peace.  "There  must  be  some- 
'  thing,"  says  he,  "more  to  hope  than  pleasure, 
'wealth,  and  power.  Something  more  to  fear  than 
'  poverty  and  pain.  Something  after  death  more 
'terrible  than  death.  There  must  be  religion. 
'  When  that  ligament  is  torn,  society  is  disjointed 
'  and  its  membei  s  perish ."  He  passed  his  last  night 
with  tolerable  composure.  On  the  morning  of  his 
death  he  enquired  of  his  devoted  nephew  what 
kind  of  a  day  it  was.  "A  beautiful  day,"  was 
the  reply.  "The  air  is  soft,  the  sky  cloudless, 
"the water  like  crystal ;  you  hear  every  ripple,  and 
"  even  the  plash  of  the  steamboat  wheels  on  the 
"river:  it  is  a  beautiful  day."  The  dying  man 
seemed  to  take  in  this  description  with  that  zest 


20 


for  nature  which  accorded  with  the  poetic  instinct 
of  his  character.  Like  Webster,  his  mind  reverted 
to  Gray's  Elegy.  He  looked  at  the  kind  relative, 
and  repeated  his  words,  "  A  beautiful  day  ;  yes, 
"but 

" Who,  to  dumb  forgetfnlness  a  prey 

"  This  pleasing,  anxious  being  e'er  resigned, 
"  Left  the  warm  precincts  of  the  cheerfnl  day, 
"  Nor  cast  one  longing,  lingering  look  behind  ?  " 

He  died  in  the  same  chamber  in  which  he  first 
saw  light,  on  the  sixth  of  November,  1816,  in  the 
eixty-f ourth  year  of  his  age. 


X. 

A  HISTORY  OF  THE 

EXPEDITION 

AGAINST   THE 

FIVE  NATIONS, 

COMMANDED  BY  GENERAL  SULLIVAN,  IN  1779. 
BY    NATHAN     DAVIS, 

Or  COLONEL  CILLEY'S  REGIMENT. 

With  an  Introductory    Note,    by   PLINY    H.    WHITE, 
President  of  the  Vermont  Historical  Society. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 


IK  July,  17T8,  the  Wyoming  Valley  was  the  theatre  of  one 
of  the  most  atrocious  massacres  of  which  American  history 
makes  any  record.  Eleven  hundred  tories  and  Indians,  un- 
der the  command  of  Colonel  John  Butler,  entered  the  val- 
ley, defeated  with  great  slaughter  a  smaller  force  which 
resisted  their  progress,  and  compelled  the  surrender  of 
Forty  Fort,  near  Wilkesbarre,  whither  numerous  families 
had  fled  for  safety.  When  these  families,  relying  upon  the 
humane  terms  of  the  capitulation,  had  returned  to  their 
homes,  the  Indians,  uncontrolled  and  probably  uncontroll- 
able, by  their  white  commanders,  traversed  the  valley, 
bnrning  dwellings,  murdering  in  cold  blood  many  of  the 
inhabitants,  and  driving  into  the  mountains  a  multitude  of 
women  and  children,  who  escaped  the  tomahawk  and  scalp- 
ing: knife  only  to  perish  by  hunger  and  f  atiague. 

These  atrocities,  with  others  of  the  same  Kind  which  fol- 
lowed them,  roused  the  indignation  of  the  American  people, 
and  in  the  snmmer  of  17T9,  General  John  Sullivan  was  sent 
with  a  strong  force  into  the  heart  of  the  country  of  the  Six 
Nations  to  punish  them,  and  in  the  course  of  about  three 
weeks,  he  destroyed  forty  Indian  villages  and  a  vast  amount 
of  food. 

Nathan  Davis,  the  author  of  the  "  history  "  herewith 
communicated,  was  a  soldier  in  that  Expedition,  and  wrote, 
or  more  probably  dictated  this  paper,  many  years  after- 
ward, with  intent  to  publish  it,  but  it  has  remained  in 
manuscript  till  now. 

He  was  born  in  Mansfield,  Connecticut,  on  the  seventh 
of  May,  1762.  His  father's  name  is  not  known.  His  mother's 
maiden  name  was  Pbebe  Doane.  In  the  seventeenth  year 
of  his  age,  he  enlisted  in  the  Revolutionary  Army,  and 
served  three  years.  When  the  war  was  ended,  he  took  up 
his  residence  m  Hanover,  New  Hampshire,  and  there  mar- 

4 


ried,  on  the  third  of  June,  1T83,  Tryhena  Eaton,  a  native  of 
South  Hadley,  Massachusetts ;  born  on  the  twenty-sixth  of 
August,  1762.  In  March,  1786,  he  became  a  resident  of 
Randolph.  Vermont,  where  he  had  previously  acquired  a 
tract  of  land.  The  town  was  then  an  almost  unbroken 
wilderness.  His  house  was  a  log-cabin,  without  floor,  and 
with  no  roof  except  one  of  boughs.  For  several  years  he 
and  his  family  endured  all  the  hardships  and  privations 
which  are  incident  to  pioneer  life. 

At  a  later  date  he  became  a  resident  of  East  Bethel,  Ver- 
mont, where  he  built  the  first  grist-mill;  where  he  also 
kept  the  first  public-house,  from  1812  to  1816.  In  the  spring  of 
1817,  he  removed  to  Royalton,  where  he  carried  on  a  farm  and 
kept  a  public-house.  There  he  died,  on  the  seventh  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1831.  His  wife,  by  whom  h'e  had  twelve  children, 
survived  him  fourteen  years. 

He  was  a  cheerful,  humorous,  hospitable,  and  benevolent 
man,  a  church-member,  a  Free-mason,  and  a  Democrat.  Dur- 
ing the  latter  part  of  his  life,  he  enjoyed  a  pension  for  his 
Revolutionary  services. 

PLINY  H.  WHITE. 


HISTORY. 


It  is  well  known  to  the  public  that  the  Six  Na- 
tions, with  the  exception  of  the  Oneiclas,  had  been 
induced  by  the  English  to  take  up  arms  against 
America,  and  were  continually  burning,  killing, 
and  scalping  our  frontier  inhabitants.  It  was 
thought  best  by  our  Government  to  check,  if  possi- 
ble, their  murderous  depredations.*  In  the  year 
1779,  General  Sullivan  was  directed,  with  four 
Brigades  of  Infantry,  commanded  by  General 
Hand  of  Pennsylvania,  General  Poor  of  New  Ham- 
pshire. General  Maxwell  of  New  Jersey,  and  Gen- 
eral Clinton  of  New  York,  together  with  a  Regiment 
of  Artillery,  commanded  by  Colonel  Procter,  to 
march  into  their  territory,  up  the  Susquehannah, 
and  attack  them. 

On  the  sixth  of  April,  we  were  ordered  to  march 
from  our  winter- quarters,  at  Reading,  Connecti- 
cut, to  Easton,  Pennsylvania.  Here  we  made  a 
halt  for  a  few  days,  waiting  the  arrival  of  Colo- 
nel Procter,  with  his  Regiment.  We  then  took 
up  our  line  of  march  for  Wyoming,  (now  called 
Wilkesbarre,)  on  the  Susquehannah ;  and  in  a 
few  days,  found  ourselves  on  the  margin  of  the 


•  Journal   of  Congress,  Thursday,  February  25,   1779; 
General  Washington  to  Congress,  March  3, 1779.    H.  B.  D. 


c 


Great  Swamp,  (so  called,)  said  to  be  thirty  miles 
across,  where  we  were  compelled  to  halt. 

Here  it  became  necessary  to  construct  a  kind 
of  bridge  for  several  miles  together,  by  laying 
timber  crosswise,  and  the  swamp  being  so  miry 
that  it  was  utterly  impossible  to  employ  horses, 
we  were  compelled  to  move  all  the  timber  by 
hand.  We  had  to  build  two  bridges  of  consider- 
able magnitude,  over  the  large  streams,  which 
run  through  this  dismal  pait  of  creation.  It  soon 
became  necessary  to  send  a  number  of  men  to 
Wyoming,  to  go  down  the  Susquehannah  to  pro- 
cure boats  and  to  bring  flour  and  other  necessaries 
for  the  use  of  the  troops.  This  necessarily  lessen- 
ed the  number  of  our  men,  and  hindered  the  pro- 
gress of  our  work,  as  General  Clinton's  army  had 
not  yet  joined  us.  Notwithstanding  the  disad- 
vantage under  which  we  labored,  we  persevered  in 
our  undertakings,  and  finally,  in  a  number  of 
weeks,  completed  it. 

This  done,  we  moved  on  to  Wyoming,  where 
we  made  another  long  halt,  in  order  to  collect  the 
necessary  supplies  of  provisions  and  baggage  hor- 
ses for  the  use  of  the  army.* 

It  was  now  the  month  of  June,  and  the  season 
afforded  us  an  excellent  opportunity  to  observe 
the  country  and  the  surrounding  scenery.  The 
land,  on  the  river,  is  excedingly  fertile,  and  well 
adopted  to  cultivation.  At  this  time  Nature  was 
decked  in  all  her  loveliness,  and  a  striking  con- 
trast was  exhibited  to  our  view,  between  the 
works  of  man  and  his  Creator.  "All  save  the 
"spirit of  man,  was  divine."  This  part  of  the 
country  had  lately  been  all  destroyed,  burnt,  and 

*  This  delay  was  occasioned  by  the  loss  of  the  greater 
part  of  the  stores,  which  had  been  spoiled,  and  in  order  to 
obtain  additional  supplies  of  ammunition.  GORDON,  iii, 
803;  MABBHALL'B  Washington,  iv,  154.  H.  B.  D. 


pillaged  by  the  Indians :  its  inhabitants  murdered 
and  scalped.  Here  and  there  lay  a  human  skele- 
ton bleaching  in  the  woods  or  in  the  open  field, 
•with  the  marks  of  the  tomahawk  upon  it. 

We  remained  in  this  place,  till  some  time  in  the 
month  of  July,*  when  we  again  marched  up  the 
river  to  Tioga  Point,  carrying  all  our  baggage, 
ammunition,  provision  and  field  pieces  in  boats. 

Here  we  erected  two  block  houses,  and  sur- 
rounded them  with  pickets.  Here  too,  General 
Sullivan  expected  the  reinforcement  of  General 
Clinton's  Brigade  from  Cherry  Valley.  We  were 
now  within  about  ten  or  twelve  miles  of  Chemung, 
where  was  encamped,  the  Indian  and  Tory  army, 
under  the  command  of  Butler  and  Brant,  wait- 
ing to  give  us  a  pretty  warm  reception. 

While  here,  we  had  several  light  skirmishes 
with  the  Indians.  At  one  time,  about  noon,  the 
commissioned  and  non-commissioned  officers  and 
musicians  being  called  out  on  fatigue  to  relieve 
the  soldiers,  and  having  gone  to  their  tents  for 
dinner,  the  soldiers  while  viewing  the  block-house, 
then  just  begun,  were  fired  upon  by  a  few  Indians, 
secreted  in  a  copse  not  far  distant,  and  one  man 
killed  and  another  wounded.  At  another  time, 
having  nearly  completed  our  works,  and  while 
waiting  for  the  reinforcement  above  mentioned, 
General  Sullivan  ordered  a  large  body  of  troops 
to  march,  at  sunset,  for  Chemung,  to  surprise  the 
enemy.  They  accordingly  marched  all  night, 
and  arrived  at  Chemung  about  break  of  day ; 
but  to  their  astonishment,  found  no  enemy 
there.  They  remained  under  arms  till  sunrise, 
when  they  went  into  the  fields,  to  pick  green  corn ; 

1  The  last  day  cf  July.  Major  DANIEL  LIVEEMORE'S  Jour- 
nal, Joly  31st;  Lieutenant  WILLIAM  BAKTON'S  Journal,  July 
31st ;  Dr.  EBENEZEB  ELMEB'S  Journal,  July  31st,  MINEB'S 
Wyoming,  267.  H.  B.  D. 


the  Indians  then  fired  upon  them  from  an  ambush, 
killed  some,  and  wounded  two  or. three  more. 
After  destroying  the  town,  and  pillaging  the  corn 
field,  they  returned  to  camp.* 

As  General  Clinton's  troops  had  not  yet  joined 
us,  the  Commander  directed  a  party  to  go  through 
the  woods,  piloted  by  some  friendly  Indians,  and 
meet  them.  After  marching  some  distance,  the 
Commander  of  the  party  thought  best  to  send  three 
chosen  veterans  to  proceed  by  themselves  :  hoping 
that  it  might  expedite  the  junction  of  the  two 
armies.  The  three  men,  chosen  for  this  purpose, 
were  Sergeant  Joseph  Henderson,  Sergeant 
Thomas  Scott,  and  a  Peter  Stevens,  all  of  whom 
belonged  to  the  first  New  Hampshire  Regiment 
commanded  by  Colonel  Joseph  Cilley  of  Notting- 
ham. 

These  fearless  heroes,  with  only  three  days'  al- 
lowance of  provision,  shouldered  their  muskets 
and  set  forward.  Not  meeting  General  Clinton, 
as  they  expected,  they  concluded  that  they  had 
missed  their  point,  and  had  passed  him.  They 
then  attempted  to  return,  but  in  doing  this,  lost 
themselves  in  the  wilderness ;  and  after  wander- 
ing about  for  twelve  days,  they,  at  last,  came 
across  General  Clinton's  track,  and  found  their 
way  back  to  our  garrison,  worn  down  with  fatigue 
and  almost  famished  with  hunger.  They  suffer- 
ed extremely  from  the  cold  damps  by  nights,  not 
daring  to  indulge  themselves  with  a  fire,  lest  they 


*  The  last-mentioned  affair  occurred  on  the  twelfth  of 
August,  the  day  after  the  army  reached  Tioga  Point. 

It  appears  from  the  Journals  of  Major  Livermore,  L:eu- 
tenant  Barton,  and  Doctor  Elmer,  as  well  as  from  the  pub- 
lished correspondence  of  that  period,  that  this  movement 
was  commanded  by  General  Hand ;  that  seventeen  wigwams 
and  several  fields  of  corn  were  destroyed ;  and  that  seven 
of  our  men  were  killed,  and  Major  Franklin  of  Wyoming, 
seriously  wounded.  H.  B.  D. 


should  be  discovered  by  the  Indians,  who  were, 
•without  doubt,  prowling  through  every  part  of 
the  wilderness.  There  these  worthy  sons  of  New 
Hampshire  were  supposed  to  be  lost,  and  probab- 
ly massacred  by  the  savages.  Their  reappearance 
was  a  matter  of  joyful  surprise.  Before  their 
arrival,  however,  the  main  army  had  taken  up 
their  march  for  the  Genesee  river.  Henderson 
and  Stevens  were  so  worn  down  by  fatigue  and 
hunger,  that  it  took  a  long  while  to  restore  them 
to  their  former  health,  but  Scott,  a  true  son  of 
Hiberuia,  although  a  native  of  this  country,  after  a 
few  days'  rest,  declared  that  he  was  again  fit  for 
any  enterprise,  and  went  to  the  commander  of 
the  garrison,  requesting  permission  to  proceed 
after  the  army.  The  commander,  after  much  im- 
portunity, gave  him  liberty  to  go,  though  with 
little  expectation  that  he  would  escape  being  mas- 
sacred by  the  Indians.  With  as  much  provision 
as  he  could  conveniently  carry,  he  started  alone 
on  our  track,  and  overtook  us  not  far  from  Cayuga 
lake.  It  was  in  the  morning,  as  we  were  about 
to  march,  when  Scott  niude  his  appearance  like 
one  risen  from  the  dead.  Officers  and  soldiers 
immediately  gathered  around  and  embraced  him  ; 
the  air  rung  with  repeated  shouts  of  "Scott's 
"alive!"  "  Scott" s  alive  !"  "He's come!"  "HJs 
"comer"1 

Our  order  of  march  through  the  inhospitable 
wilderness,  was  in  the  following  manner :  We 
formed  a  hollow  square ;  General  Hand  in  front, 
General  Poor  on  the  right,  General  Maxwell  on 
the  left,  and  General  Clinton  in  the  rear.  Within 
the  hollow  square  was  placed  Colonel  Procter's 
Regiment  of  Artillery,  together  with  our  luggage 
horses,  carrying  our  flour,  tents,  etc.,  and  our 
beef  cattle.  We  were  ordered  to  march  in  pla- 
toons, eight  deep,  which  made  it  more  fatiguing 


10 


than  it  otherwise  would  have  been  ;  each  one 
being  strictly  ordered  to  keep  his  place.  In  this 
situation,  we  could  form  a  front  of  three  Bri- 
gades, should  we  happen  to  be  attacked  on  either 
side,  with  one  Brigade  in  the  rear,  as  a  reserve. 
It  was  the  latter  part  of  August  when  we  started 
from  our  garrison,  in  high  spirits  and  good 
health.*  We  pursued  our  way  to  Chemung,  and 
finding  no  enemy  there,  f  we  turned  to  the  right, 
in  order  to  strike  near  the  Oneida  lake. 

We  came  to  a  place  called  Newton,  where  we 
discovered  that  the  enemy  was  waiting  to  give 
us  an  unwelcome  salute. 

This  discovery  was  made  on  Sunday  morning, 
the  twenty-ninth  August,  by  our  sagacious  rifle- 
men, who  were  satisfied,  from  appearances,  that 
there  were  Indians  hard  by.  A  Council  of  the 
Field-officers  was  immediately  held,  and  arrange- 
ments made  for  a  general  attack. 

Whilst  this  was  doing,  our  riflemen  discovered 
at  a  little  distance  in  front,  a  sure  indication  of 
an  ambush4  In  the  direction  of  our  march,  was 
a  very  deep  defile,  occasioned  by  a  brook  of  water 
running  through  a  pine  plain ;  §  the  banks  of  the 
brook  were  very  steep  and  high,  and  the  growth 
of  timber  small  and  very  thick.  On  the  opposite 
bank,  it  was  observed  to  be  thicker  and  in  greater 

*  The  expedition  moved  from  Tioga  on  the  twenty-sixth 
of  August,  leaving  behind  it  a  great  part  of  the  baggage  and 
two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  with  two  six-pounders,  under 
Colonel  Shreve.  Major  LIVEEMOBE'B  and  Lieutenant  BAE- 
TON'B  Journals;  MINER'S  Wyoming,  270.  H.  B.  D. 

t  Although  no  enemy  was  found  at  Chemung,  large 
fields  of  growing  corn,  beans,  potatoes,  and  pumpkins  were 
found  and  destroyed.  H.  B.  D. 

t  See,  also.  Major  LIVKEMOBB'S  and  Lieutenant  BABTON'S 
Journals;  General  SULLIVAN'S  Despatch,  August  30, 1779 ; 
M AESII  ALL'S  Washington,  iv.  157 ;  MINEB'S  Wyoming,  271. 
H.B.  D. 

§  Since  called  Baldwin's  Creek.  Life  of  Major  Van  Cam- 
pen,  146.  H.  B.  D. 


11 


regularity  than  it  would  have  been  had  dame  Na- 
ture horself  placed  it  there.  The  conclusion  was 
that  Indians  lay  concealed  behind  it,  as  finally 
proved  to  be  the  case.  They  had  made  a  kind  of 
breast  work  of  small  pine  timber,  and  had  that 
morning,  cut  small  saplings,  and  stuck  them  in 
the  ground,  in  front  of  it.* 

General  Poor  was  ordered  to  take  possession  of 
a  certain  hill,  which  lay  at  some  distance,  partly 
to  the  right ;  f  whilst  General  Maxwell  was  direct- 
ed to  oblique  to  the  left,  in  order  to  turn  the  ene- 
my's right  rlank.l 

We  had  not  proceeded  half  a  mile,  when  Gen- 
eral Sullivan  gave  orders  to  Colonel  Procter  to 
open  his  six  or  eight  brass  field  pieces,  from  six  to 
three  pounders,  and  also  a  small  howitzer  which 
hove  a  small  bomb,  upon  the  enemy's  breastwork. 
The  object  of  this  order  was  to  draw  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Indians  off  from  General  Poor.  The 
order  was  obeyed  with  promptness,  but  produced 
a  somewhat  different  effect  from  the  one  antici- 
pated. They  immediately  ran  from  their  slender 
works  as  fast  as  their  legs  could  carry  them,  and 
advanced  directly  to  the  hill,  where  they  secreted 
themselves  behind  the  trees,  waiting  our  approach. 
When  our  front  had  advanced  within  a  short  dis- 


•  Major  LivERMcraE'o  and  Lieutenant  BAETON-'S  Journals. 
Letter  from  Tioga,  August  31,  in  The  Pennsylvania  Packet 
of  September  7,  1779^  General  SULLIVAN'S  Despatch,  Au- 
gust 30, 1779;  Civil  War  in  America,  m,  64;  MARSH ALL'S 
Washington,  iv,  156;  MINEE'B  Wyoming,  270.  H  B  D. 

t  This  movement  was  an  important  one.  The  command 
of  General  Poor  included  the  New  Hampshire  and  Massa- 
chusetts Regiments,  and  was  supported  by  the  entire  Bri- 
gade of  Geneial  Clinton,  ^nd  was  designed  to  flank  the 
enemy's  line  and  gain  his  renr.  II.  B.  D. 

t  We  think  this"  is  a  mistake,  since  General  Sullivan's  De- 
spatch of  the  thirtieth  of  August,  1779,  clearly  indicates  that 
both  Hand  and  Maxwell  merely  covered  the  Artillery  with- 
out advancing  against  the  enemy's  line.  H.  B.  D. 


12 


tance  of  them,  they  commenced  a  fire  from  be- 
hind every  tree,  and  at  the  same  time  gave  the 
war  whoop.  Not  all  the  infernals  of  the  prince 
of  darkness,  could  they  have  been  let  loose  from 
the  bottomless  pit,  would  have  borne  any  compa- 
rison to  these  demons  of  the  forest.* 

"We  were  expressly  ordered  not  to  fire,  until  we 
had  obtained  permission  from  our  officers,  but  to 
form  a  line  of  battle  as  soon  as  possible,  and 
march  forward.  This  we  did  in  good  order,  and 
at  the  same  time  the  Indians  kept  up  an  incessant 
fire  upon  us,  from  behind  the  trees ;  firing  and 
retreating  back  to  another  tree,  loading  and  firing 
again,  still  keeping  up  the  war  whoop.  They 
continued  this  mode  of  warfare  till  we  had  driven 
them  half  way  up  the  hill,  when  we  were  ordered 
to  charge  bayonets  and  rush  on.  No  sooner  said 
than  done.  We  then,  in  our  turn,  gave  our  war 
whoop,  in  the  American  style,  which  completely 
silenced  the  unearthly  voice  of  their  stentorian 
throats.  We  drove  them,  at  once,  to  the  opposite 
side  of  the  hill,  when  we  were  ordered  to  halt,  as 
the  Indians  were  out  of  sight  and  hearing.  How 
many  we  killed  I  never  could  exactly  ascertain, 
but  some  were  killed,  and  one  scalped  to  my 
knowledge,  f  and  much  blood  was  seen  on  their 


•  We  are  clearly  of  the  opinion  that  the  Author  has  over- 
rated the  effects  of  this  Artillery  fire;  and  that  the  Indians 
abandoned  their  works,not  because  of  Colonel  Procter's  oper- 
ations, but  to  oppose  the  progress  to  their  rear  of  General 
Poor.  Such  an  experienced  commander  as  Joseph  Brant 
was,  must  have  seen  the  vital  importance  of  keeping  an 
enemy  from  his  rear;  besides,  we  nave  the  testimony,  on 
the  same  subject,  of  Majors  Livermore  and  Van  Campen  and 
Lieutenant  Barton,  as  well  as  that  of  Brant's  biographer, 
Colonel  Stone.  H.  B.  D. 

t  That  the  practice  of  scalping  was  not  confined  to  the 
Indians  Is  also  proven  by  Lieutenant  BABTON'B  Journnl, 
August  29  and  September  13 ;  by  the  Journal  of  an  officer, 
September  13 ;  and  in  STONE'S  Life  of  Brant,  ii,  21.  H.  B.  D. 


13 


track.  We  also  took  two  prisoners,  one  negro 
and  a  white  man,  said  to  be  a  Tory.  The  white 
man  was  found  painted  black,  lying  on  his  face, 
and  pretending  to  be  dead.  As  no  blood  was 
seen  near  him,  after »a  proper  discipline  he  was 
soon  brought  to  his  feelings.  He  was  then  strip- 
ped, and  washed,  and  found  to  be  white.  A  rope 
was  then  tied  around  his  neck,  and  he  was  led  in 
front  of  the  troops,  whilst  every  one  gave  him  his 
sentence,  "  You  shall  be  hung  to-morrow."  This, 
however,  was  not  put  into  execution. 

We  remained  on  the  battle-ground  till  sunset, 
when  we  retreated  to  the  plain,  and  encamped. 
We  had  twenty-two  killed  and  a  number  wounded, 
some  mortally.*  The  next  day,  we  buried  our 
dead  by  the  side  of  fallen  trees,  near  our  encamp- 
ment, not  raising  their  graves  any  higher  than  the 
surface  of  the  earth.  We  then  burnt  brush  over 
their  graves,  so  that  the  Indians  might  not  distin- 
guish them  from  the  places  where  we  had  built 
our  customary  fires.  Here  we  lay  by  for  two 
days,  in  which  time  we  sent  back  our  wounded 
and  invalids  to  the  garrison.  \ 

On  the  first  of  September,  orders  were  read  to 
each  Regiment,  accompanied  with  the  thanks  of 
the  commander,  for  their  good  conduct  and 

*  The  loss  of  our  army  in  this  action  is  very  uncertain. 
This  "  History  "  says  twenty-two  were  killed  arid  a  number 
wounded.  Major  Van  Campen  (Page  70,)  says  our  loss  was 
seventy.  Major  Livermore,  (Journal,  August  29.)  that 
"  but  four  or  live  "  were  killed  and  three  officers  and  about 
"thirty  others"  were  wounded ;  Lieutenant  Barton  (Journal, 
August  29,)  that  "  two  or  three  of  ours  were  killed,  and 
"  thirty-four  or  five  wounded  " ;  Gordon  (History,  iii,  309.) 
that  it  was  seven  killed,  and  fourteen  wounded ;  Marshall, 
(Life  of  Washington,  iv,  158,)  that  it  was  "  about  thirty 
"  men " ;  and  General  Sullivan,  in  his  Despatch  of  the 
thirtieth  of  August,  1779,  that  it  was  three  killed  and  thirty- 
nine  wounded.  H.  B.  D. 

t  See,  also,  Major  LIVEEMOEE'S  Journal,  August  30 ;  and 
STONE'B  Brant,  ii,  22.  H.  B.  D. 


14 


bravery,  and  congratulating  them  on  the  victory 
they  had  just  obtained.  This  was  accompanied 
with  the  request  that  the  troops  might  pursue  the 
remainder  of  the  expedition  on  half  allowance. 
The  Commander  informed  us  that  we  had  not 
more  than  half  provision  enough  to  complete  the 
expedition ;  that  we  should  go  through  a  num- 
ber of  Indian  towns,  where  we  should  always  find 
a  large  supply  of  corn,  beans,  and  squash,  which 
would  enable  us  to  supply,  in  some  measure,  the 
deficiency.  In  addition  to  this,  we  were  pro- 
mised an  ample  remuneration  by  Congress.  This 
was  enough ;  every  one  was  willing  to  give  his 
consent  to  the  proposal ;  every  eye  brightened  and 
sparkled  with  vengeance.  The  question  was  then 
put  to  the  soldiers  in  the  following  manner : 
Every  soldier  who  was  willing  to  go  forward  in 
the  defence  of  his  country,  agreeable  to  the  re- 
quest of  the  commander,  was  requested  to  mani- 
fest it  at  a  given  signal.  No  sooner  said  than 
done.  At  the  given  word  "  Recover  arms" 
every  musket,  with  only  one  exception,  among 
three  thousand,  obeyed  the  order.  We  then  gave 
three  cheers  for  General  Sullivan,  and  prepared  to 
march  the  next  day. 

The  next  morning,  we  struck  our  tents  and 
paraded,  in  order  to  march.*  Every  Colonel 

*  We  are  inclined  to  think  the  author  has  fallen  into  an 
error  in  this  statement. 

The  army  evidently  rested  only  one  full  day,  since  it 
moved  to  Newtown,  (Elmira,)  and  destroyed  that  village, 
in  which  were  "  some  good  buildings  of  English  coiistruc- 
"  tion," — on  the  thirty-tirst  of  August:  (Major  LIVEBMOHE'B 
and  Lieutenant  BARTON'S  Journals:)  and  on  the  first  of 
September,  was  at  "  French  Catharine's,"  now  H  ivannah, 
at  the  head  of  Seneca  L-ike.  (Ibid.;  STORE'S Srait,\l,  24.) 
It  could  not,  therefore,  have  been  on  "  the  next  morning," 
after  '.'  the  tirst  of  September."  when  the  tents  were  struck 
and  the  army  paraded  for  the  purpose  of  advancing  from 
the  battle-ground,  which  was  a  mile  to  the  Eastward  oi  where 
Elmira  now  is.  H.  B.  1). 


15 


again  made  proclamation  to  his  Regiment,  that 
every  soldier,  who  thought  he  was  unable  to  en- 
dure the  expedition,  might  march  four  paces  in 
front,  and  go  back  to  the  garrison.  But  a  very 
few  ventured  to  make  themselves  conspicuous  as 
volunteers  to  return,  and  thus  become  the  butt  of 
ridicule  to  those  who  remained  in  the  ranks. 

Here  permit  me  to  mention  the  worthy  conduct 
of  Colonel  Cilley,  to  whose  Regiment  the  writer 
of  this  narrative  belonged.  He  walked  to  the 
right  of  his  Regiment,  and  as  he  passed  on  to  the 
left,  he  very  pleasantly  spoke  to  several  of  his 
soldiers,  and  told  them  that  whilst  he  applauded 
their  courage  and  patriotism,  he  thought  they 
were  unable  to  endure  the  hardships  they  neces- 
sarily must,  on  so  short  an  allowance.  On  pass- 
ing near  to  the  left  wing,  he  said  to  quite  a  young 
lad,  only  in  his  fifteenth  year,  by  the  name  of 
Richard  Drout,  "Richard,  you  must  go  back; 
"you  cannot  endure  the  march."  The  brave  lit- 
tle fellow  replied,  "Colonel,  I  don't  want  to  go 
"  back  ;  I  can  stand  it,  I  know  I  can."  On  the 
Colonel's  telling  him  that  he  was  too  young  to  en- 
dure the  march,  and  that  he  had  better  go  back, 
Richard  began  to  weep  most  bitterly,  and  exclaim- 
ed, "  Colonel,  I  am  not  tired  a  bit,  and  have  not 
' '  been  ;  and  I  know  I  can  endure  it  as  well  as 
"  any  of  them  ;  besides,  they  will  call  me  a  cow- 
"  ard,  and  I  am  not  one."  The  Colonel  assured 
him  he  should  not  be  called  a  coward,  and  that 
he  would  severely  flog  any  one  who  should  ven- 
ture to  apply  such  an  epithet  to  him.  Richard, 
however,  continued  weeping  most  bitterly,  and 
exclaimed,  "  I  enlisted  to  serve  my  country.  Do 
"let  me  go  on."  The  Colonel,  with  a  full  heart, 
at  length  makes  him  this  reply:  "  Go,  my  lad, 
"  and  God  go  with  you."  He  went,  and  endured 
the  march  as  well  as  any  one  among  us.  The 


16 


writer  of  this  narrative  had  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  this  same  Richard  Drout,  and  entertaining 
him,  at  his  own  house  in  Royalton,  in  1818,  as  he 
and  two  of  his  sons  were  going  to  join  our  North- 
ern army. 

The  horns*  soon  sounded  ;  the  signal  to  march. 
We  laid  our  course  for  the  small  lakes.  We  pre- 
sently came  to  a  great  swamp,  where  our  march 
was  much  impeded  by  the  mire.  Here  too  we 
lost  a  number  of  our  baggage  horses. 

Here  was  a  small  Indian  village,  deserted  by  all 
its  inhabitants,  except  by  one  very  aged  female, 
who  was  entirely  helpless.  Our  Indians  attempt- 
ed to  talk  with  her,  but  she  made  signs  that  she 
could  not  understand  them. 

At  length,  an  old  Indian,  who  had  spoken  to 
her  in  several  different  dialects,  drew  his  knife, 
and  told  her  he  would  take  her  scalp,  unless  she 
consented  to  talk.  This  threat  produced  the  de- 
sired effect.  She  told  them  that  the  old  Chiefs 
were  for  peace,  but  the  young  warriors  would  not 
listen  to  their  counsels  ;  and  that  all  of  them  had 
gone  to  the  big  lakes.  We  remained  here  two 
nights  and  one  day,  in  order  to  get  our  cattle  and 
baggage  horses  through  the  swamp.  At  our  de- 
parture, the  General  ordered  a  few  pounds  of  beef 
boiled  and  left  with  this  old  mother  of  the  red 
men. 

Butler's  army,  at  this  time,  kept  only  ahead  of 
us  sufficiently  to  be  out  of  our  reach,  as  we  fre- 
quently came  across  their  fires,  where  they  had  left 
boiling  their  kettles  of  succatash.  Whenever  we 
came  near  an  Indian  village,  large  parties  were 
always  sent  to  burn  then-  huts  and  to  destroy 


•  Horns  were  used  instead  of  drams ;  as  the  latter  conld 
not  be  need  among  the  woods  and  underbrush.— THE  AU- 
THOR. 


17 


their  corn.  Our  main  army  kept  on  the  most  di- 
rect route  to  a  place  called  Big  Tree,  on  the  Gen- 
esee  River.  We  encamped  near  the  Geneva 
lake,  in  a  very  large  apple  orchard,  to  which 
place  we  gave  the  name  of  Appleton.*  Here  we 
caught  several  Indian  horses,  by  driving  them 
into  the  lake,  when  some  of  our  most  expert 
swimmers  would  catch  them,  and  turn  them  to 
the  shore.  Here  we  found  a  white  boy,  of  four 
years  of  age. 

After  we  had  destroyed  their  orchard,  we 
marched  on  to  Canandaigua  lake.  This  lake  we 
were  obliged  to  ford  at  a  small  distance  from  its 
out-let ;  the  water  for  a  great  distance  being 
nearly  to  our  shoulders.  We  carried  our  cartridge 
boxes  on  the  top  of  our  knapsacks  to  keep  them 
out  of  the  water.  As  there  was  only  one  place 
that  was  fordable,  the  principal  part  of  the  after- 
noon was  spent  in  getting  across.  Both  sides  of 
the  outlet  were  covered  with  an  impenetrable 
thicket  of  underbrush,  grapes,  and  thorn  bushes, 
which  made  it  impossible  for  our  cattle  and 
horses  to  pass  through  them.  The  First  New 
Hampshire  Regiment,  being  in  the  front  of  the 
right  wing,  was  ordered  to  halt,  and  to  sec  that 
our  guns  were  well  loaded  and  fresh  primed,  and 
also  to  keep  our  places  in  good  order  till  all  the 
rest  of  the  troops,  cattle,  baggage  horses,  etc., 
had  passed  the  ford  way.  This  order  occasioned 
considerable  complaint,  and  not  a  few  heavy 
curses  on  the  one  who  gave  it.  Our  Major,  who 
happened  to  hear  the  murmuring  of  the  soldiers, 
very  pleasantly  addressed  them,  assured  them  that 
they  ought  not  to  complain  of  their  Commander's 


*  See,  also,  Major  LIVEEMOUE'S  and  Lieutenant  BARTON'S 
Journals,  September  1  and  2 :  and  STONE'S  Brant,  ii,  24.  H. 
13.  D. 


18 


not  giving  them  their  priority  in  the  line  of 
march,  "for,"  says  he,  "as  sure  as  we  pass 
"  those  bushes  yonder,"  (pointing  to  the  outlet  of 
the  lake.)  "  we  shall  be  attacked  by  the  In- 
"  dians,  and  your  General  places  the  utmost  con- 
"  fidence  on  your  bravery  and  skill."  This  decla- 
ration at  once  silenced  all  complaint,  and 
"Hurra  for  General  Sullivan  !"  resounded  through 
the  air.  When  they  had  all  got  across,  we  were 
ordered  to  march  with  a  full  expectation  of  a 
salute  from  the  red  men  of  the  forest,  accom- 
panied with  their  war  whoop  and  the  contents  of 
their  rifles.  In  this,  however,  we  were  disap- 
pointed. 

It  was  near  sunset  before  we  had  all  crossed 
the  lake.  General  Sullivan  then  ordered  General 
Hand  to  go  with  four  Regiments  of  Infantry  and 
take  the  town,  about  half  a  mile  ahead.  General 
Hand  hesitated  ;  stating  that  he  would  obey,  but 
it  appeared  to  him  to  be  an  useless  waste  of  lives, 
as  it  would  be  dark  before  they  could  reach  the 
town,  and  the  advantage  would  all  be  on  the  side 
of  the  enemy.  Colonel  Cilley,  who  was  then 
on  his  horse,  straightened  himself  in  his  stirrups, 
and  exclaimed,  "  General  Sullivan,  give  me  leave 
"  and  I  will  take  the  town,  with  my  Regiment 
"  alone."  The  General  gave  him  permission,  and 
\ve  were  on  the  march  in  a  moment.  Before  we 
reached  the  town,  it  became  so  dark  that  we  were 
obliged  to  take  hold  of  our  file-leader's  frocks,  and 
in  this  manner*  grope  our  passage  in  an  Indian 
foot-path.  We  found  no  worse  enemy  to  encoun- 
ter than  the  darkness,  and  a  thousand  musketoes  to 
each  man.  The  town  was  entirely  deserted  by  its 
inhabitants.  It  was  a  place  of  considerable  mag- 
nitude. The  huts  or  wigwams  were  constructed 
of  bark,  and  very  narrow  in  proportion  to  their 
length,  some  being  thirty  or  forty  feet  long,  and 


19 


not  more  than  ten  feet  wide,  generally  with  a 
bark  floor,  except  in  the  centre,  where  was  a  place 
for  the  fire.  Under  one  of  these  bark  floors,  one 
of  our  men  found  fourteen  dollars,  in  silver.  In 
this  place,  we  found  some  considerable  plunder, 
such  as  scalping  knives,  tomahawks,  muskets, 
etc.* 

We  encamped  in  the  town  during  the  night. 
The  next  morning,  Lieutenant  Boyd  requested 
permission  to  go  out,  with  a  small  party  of  fifteen,! 
and  one  friendly  Indian  as  a  guide.  They  had 
not  proceeded  more  than  half  a  mile,  before  they 
were  completely  ambushed  and  surrounded.  The 
Indian,  who  was  with  Boyd,  called  out  to  him, 
"  Fiffht  or  die.  No  quarter  now."  The  gallant 
party,  defended  themselves  to  the  last  extremity, 
but  the  Indians  rushed  in  on  every  side,  toma- 
hawk in  hand,  and  scalped  all  those  who  were  not 
killed  by  their  first  tire.  The  Lieutenant  and 
Sergeant):  were  bound.  Among  the  party,  was  a 
stout,  athletic,  young  man  of  about  nineteen  j  ears, 
by  the  name  of  McMurphy.  Whilst  an  Indian 
was  about  to  tie  his  hands  behind  him,  he  turned, 
took  the  Indian  by  the  hair  of  his  head,  and  threw 
him,  with  great  force,  on  the  ground,  and  im- 
mediately sprang  from  them,  and  ran,  with  the 
greatest  speed,  whilst  the  balls  and  hatchets  were 
continually  whistling  by  him.  He  finally  arrived 
safe  in  camp. 

Hearing  the  firing,  we  had  sent  out  a  party  to 


*  Although  no  date  is  given,  it  is  probable  that  the  au- 
thor refers,  in  this  place,  to  Kanaghsa,  which  was  destroyed 
on  Monday,  the  thirteenth  of  September.  (Major  LIVEK- 
MOHE'B  and  Lieutenant  BARTON'S  Journals,  September  13; 
STONE'S  Brant,  ii,  29.)  H.  B.  D. 

t  We  think  this  is  an  error.  There  is  abundant  testimony, 
as  below,  that  this  party  was  composed  of  twenty-seven 
men.  H.  B.  D. 

t  Sergeant  Parker.    H.  B.  IX 

0 


20 


assist  them.  When  this  party  had  arrived  at  the 
place  of  their  engagement,  there  was  nothing 
there  to  be  seen,  but  the  mangled  bodies  of  twelve 
of  Boyd's  party.*  Boyd,  nor  the  Sergeant,  could 
not  be  found,  f 

The  next  day,  we  pursued  our  route  for  the  town 
of  Big  Tree.  We  arrived  at  this  place  on  a  Satur- 
day, about  sun- set.  t  Here  we  found  the  mangled 
bodies  of  Lieutenant  Boyd  and  the  Sergeant.  We 
saw  the  place  where  they  had  been  tied  to  a  tree, 
and  the  bloody  sticks  with  which  they  had  been 


*  TWENTY-TWO  were  killed  and  left  on  the  field.  It  is  not 
improbable  that  the  error  has  arisen  in  copying  the  "  His- 
tory." a  modern  production,  from  the  original  memorandum. 
H.B.  D. 

t  This  very  brief  statement  of  the  capture  of  Lieutenant 
Boyd  and  his  party,  fails  to  convey  to  the  reader  a  just  idea 
of  that  sad  event. 

Boyd  was  sent  forward,  with  a  party  of  twenty-six  men, 
to  reconnoitre  Little  Beardstown,  and  had  accomplished  his 
purpose  and  was  on  his  return  to  the  main  body  when  he 
fell  into  an  ambush,  as  described  in  the  text.  He  and  the 
Sergeant  were  alone  spared  by  Joseph  Brant,  who  com- 
manded the  enemy,  while  three  escaped  and  twenty-two 
were  killed. 

Boyd  was  spared  by  Brant  because  of  his  Masonic  ties, 
sent  forward  to  Little  Beardstown,  and  well  treated ;  but 
Butler,  the  Loyalist  chief,  during  Brant's  absence,  subse- 
quently butchered  both  him  and  Parker,  because  they  would 
not  divulge  the  information  they  possessed  concerning  the 
American  army.  It  was  the  savage  white  Loyalist,  not  the 
half-civilized  Indian  warrior,  who  was  the  butcher  in  this 
instance. 

The  remains  of  Boyd  and  Parker  were  removed  to  Mount 
Hope  Cemetery,  Rochester,  in  August,  1842 ;  and  in  a  little 
volume  describing  the  ceremonies  on  that  occasion,  and  in 
the  Journals  of  Major  Livermore,  Lieutenant  Barton,  and 
"  an  officer"— the  latter  cited  by  Judge  Campbell, — the  Life 
of  Major  Van  Campen;  the  Life  of  Mary  Jemison,  the 
White  Woman  ;  and  STONE'S  Life  of  Joseph  Brant,  the 
reader  will  find  other  and  more  important  particulars.  H. 
B.  D. 

t  Major  Van  Campen  says  that  Little  Beardstown,  where 
Boyd's  and  Parker's  remains  were  found,  was  occupied  by 
the  American  troops  on  Tuesday,  the  fourteenth  of  Sep- 
tember. H.  B.  D. 


21 


whipped.  Their  backs  had  been  cut  to  the  bone 
with  their  knives.  They  had  been  scalped,  their 
tongues  cut  out  and  their  eyes  dug  out,  by  these 
inhuman  demons  of  cruelty.  The  Lieutenant's 
breast  had  been  cut  open,  his  heart  taken  out  and 
placed  in  his  right  hand.  Their  bodies  were 
committed  to  the  grave,  with  martial  honors. 

Big  Tree  appeared  to  be  the  capital  of  the  five 
tribes.  Here  was  their  large  Grand  Council 
House,  built  of  peeled  logs,  two  stories  high,  and 
the  gable  ends  painted  red  with  vermillion.  The 
town  contained  one  hundred  and  twenty-two 
houses  and  wigwams,  and  a  larger  supply  of  pro- 
visions was  found  in  this  place  than  in  any  other 
three  towns  through  which  we  passed.* 

It  may  now,  perhaps,  be  proper  to  notice  our 
manner  of  livelihood.  Whilst  marching  in  the 
wilderness,  as  before  observed,  we  had  only  half 
our  allowance  of  provisions,  which  was  one  half 
pound  of  flour,  and  one  half  pound  fresh  beef, 
or  rather  an  apology  for  beef,  as  our  cattle  had 
become  intolerably  poor,  in  consequence  of  con- 
stant driving.  When  we  came  to  an  Indian  town, 
we  had  neither  meal  nor  flour,  but  only  a  trifle  of 
salt.  When  we  first  came  to  the  Indian  towns, 
their  corn  was  suitable  to  boil  or  roast ;  of  course 
we  had  plenty  of  succatash.  When  the  corn  be- 
came too  mature  for  this,  we  converted  some  old 
tin  kettles,  found  in  the  Indian  settlements,  into 
large  graters,  and  obliged  every  fourth  man,  not 
on  guard,  to  sit  up  all  night,  and  grate  corn, 
which  would  make  meal,  something  like  hom- 
iny. This  meal  was  mixed  with  boiled  squash 
or  pumpkin,  when  hot,  and  kneaded  into  cakes, 

*  It  is  said  that  upwards  of  seven  hundred  acres  of  grow- 
ing corn,  besides  vast  quantities  of  other  property,  including 
more  than  a  hundred  and  twenty  houses,  were  destroyed  at 
this  place.  H.  B.  D. 


and  baked  by  the  fire.  This  bread,  coarse  as  it 
was,  relished  well  among  soldiers  fatigued  with 
their  daily  marches  through  the  wilderness,  and 
I  very  much  doubt,  whether  one  of  them  would 
have  allowed  George  III.  one  morsel  of  it,  to  have 
saved  him  from  the  lock-jaw. 

On  Monday  morning,  we  were  all  engaged  in 
picking  corn,  and  carrying  it,  in  our  blankets,  into 
the  Indian  houses.  We  completed  our  task,  about 
noon,  when  we  struck  our  tents  and  marched  a  short 
distance  to  a  rising  piece  of  ground,  in  the  rear  of 
the  town,  where  we  made  a  halt.  We  then  fired 
a  small  field  piece,  as  a  signal  for  a  party  who 
was  sent  for  the  purpose  of  setting  fire  to  every 
house  and  cabin  in  the  town,  filled  with  ears  of 
corn  in  the  husk,  at  one  and  the  same  instant. 
The  sight  of  so  many  buildings  on  fire,  the  massy 
clouds  of  black  smoke,  and  the  curling  pillars  of 
flame  bursting  through  them,  formed  an  awful 
and  sublime  spectacle. 

Neither  did  it  altogether  escape  our  reflection 
what  must  be  the  inevitable  consequence  resulting 
from  the  destruction  of  all  the  sustenance  of  a 
multitude  of  natives.  But  when  ve  reflected  on 
the  inhuman  barbarities  they  had  inflicted  on  our 
own  people,  the  scalps  that  we  had  seen  hanging 
around  their  wigwams,  from  the  aged  parent  of 
grey  hairs,  down  to  the  resistless  infant  at  the 
breast,  we  could  not  but  feel  justified  in  the  act, 
whilst  we  lamented  the  dreadful  necessity  that 
impelled  us  to  it.  We  now  retraced  our  steps 
back  to  the  garrison  on  the  Tioga  Point,  with  as 
much  dispatch  as  p'ossible. 

As  before  observed,  we  arrived  at  Big  Tree  on 
Saturday  night.  On  Sunday,  a  white  woman  "vas 
discovered  coming  towards  our  tents,  leading  by 
the  hand  a  little  boy,  about  four  yea  s  old.  Com- 
ing to  our  sentries,  she  enquired  of  them  if  they 


23 


knew  where  the  Rebel  army  was.  The  term 
"  Rebel  "  was  particularly  offensive  to  the  guard  ; 
but  nevertheless,  as  she  was  a  white  woman,  they 
asked  her  to  explain,  at  the  same  time  telling  her 
that  they  were  a  part  of  General  Sullivan's  army, 
and  that  if  she  would  escape  with  her  life,  she 
must  not  call  them  by  the  name  of  "  rebel."  She 
informed  them  that  she  had  been  a  prisoner  with 
the  Indians  about  two  years ;  that  at  the  time  she 
and  her  little  son  were  taken  prisoners,  her  hus- 
band was  killed  by  the  savages  ;  and  at  the  time 
we  entered  the  town,  the  day  before,  the  Indians 
were  in  such  haste  to  get  out  of  it,  that  she  could 
not  follow  them,  and  finally  lost  herself  in  the 
woods  ;  that  when  she  saw  our  tents  she  did  not 
know  but  it  might  be  Butler's  camp,  and  if  it 
proved  to  be,  she  would  tell  them  she  had  been 
lost  in  the  woods ;  for  if  they  discovered  that 
she  had  made  an  attempt  to  escape,  they  would 
probably  take  her  life.  She  was  then  shown 
to  the  General's  Quarters,  and  well  provided 
for. 

During  our  march  to  the  garrison,  she  and  her 
child  were  provided  with  a  horse.  On  the  third 
day  of  our  march,  her  child  was  taken  extremely 
sick.  To  leave  them  behind  was  certain  death, 
either  by  starvation,  or  by  the  merciless  cruelty  of 
the  Indians,  who  would  naturally  hang  at  a 
small  distance  in  our  rear.  The  want  of  provi- 
sions began  to  be  extremely  felt,  and  our  Com- 
mander felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to  push  on,  with  all 
possible  speed,  to  our  garrison.  The  sickness  of 
the  child,  however,  still  continued,  and  in  a  short 
time  it  expired  in  its  mother's  arms.  Here  was 
presented  a  scene  that  would  melt  the  hardest 
heart.  The  poor  little  sufferer  was  wrapped  in 
an  old  blanket,  and  placed  in  a  hole,  dug  with  a 
sharpened  stick,  in  the  ground ;  then  covered  over, 


24 


and  a  few  pieces  of  old  rotten  timber  thrown 
upon  it,  to  prevent  the  wild  beasts  from  devour- 
ing its  body. 

Our  soldiers  had  faced  the  cannon's  month ; 
they  had  in  that  expedition  seen  their  comrades 
shot  down  by  their  side,  and  in  an  instant,  seen 
them  gasping  in  the  agonies  of  death;  they  had 
seen  the  mangled  bodies  of  the  brave  Boyd  and 
his  gallant  party ;  but  the  present  scene  called 
louder  for  their  tears  of  sympathy,  than  aught 
they  had  witnessed  before.  A  disconsolate 
widow,  whose  husband  had  fallen  by  savage  bru- 
tality before  her  eyes,  who  for  two  long  years 
had  endured  the  hardships  and  privations  of  cap- 
tivity, among  a  race  of  beings  whose  tender  mer- 
cies are  cruel,  in  company  with  her  little  son,  now 
mourning  over  the  rudely  constructed  grave  of  all 
she  held  dear  on  earth,  was  a  scene  before  which 
the  hardiest  veteran  forgot  the  soldier  and  as- 
sumed the  man.  No  female  friend  stood  near,  to 
offer  one  word  of  consolation. 

Pause  for  a  moment,  and  reflect  on  her  situa- 
tion Behold  her  and  her  husband,  among  the 
hardy  adventurers  of  our  frontier  inhabitants, 
when  after  successfully  encountering  almost  in- 
numerable difficulties,  they  were  about  to  realize 
the  benefits  of  their  activity  and  labor,  about  to 
raise  the  cup  of  plenty  to  their  lips ;  when  all  in 
a  moment  is  dashed  away.  Behold  her  husband, 
murdered  and  scalpeft  before  her  eyes  ;  her  habi- 
tation wrapped  in  flames ;  she  and  her  child 
bound,  expecting  every  moment  to  share  the  same 
fate  her  husband  had  before.  Hear  the  heart- 
rending screams  of  her  little  son  ;  hear  too  the 
war  whoop  of  those  merciless  fiends  of  cruelty, 
brandishing  the  scalping  knife  and  tomahawk 
over  her  head.  Think  of  the  two  long  years  of 
captivity  she  had  suffered,  and  finally  of  her  es- 


25 


cape  therefrom.  Think  of  the  time  when  Hope 
first  began  to  brighten  in  her  eye,  and  when  she 
fondly  cherished  the  pleasing  expectation  of  once 
more  seeing  her  surviving  friends,  with  the  only 
son  of  her  murdered  husband  ;  ajid  then  form,  if 
you  can,  an  adequate  conception  of  the  nature 
and  extent  of  a  mother's  grief,  under  such  dis- 
tressing circumstances. 

We  pursued  our  line  of  march  much  in  the 
same  order  that  we  did  in  going  out  ;  sometimes 
encamping  on  the  same  ground.  When  we  came 
to  the  place  where  we  left  the  old  mother  of  the 
red  men,  we  found  her  there,  but  she  had  paid  the 
debt  of  nature.  The  General  ordered  her  to  be 
buried.  On  returning  through  the  swamp,  our 
baggage  horses  had  become  so  poor  and  weak, 
that  we  lost  in  this  place  more  than  a  hundred, 
and  it  has  been  called,  I  suppose,  The  valley  of 
Horse  heath,  to  this  day.* 

When  we  left  Tioga  Point,  we  left  the  princi- 
pal part  of  our  clothing,  by  general  order.  We 
were  not  allowed  any  clothing  besides  that  which 
we  wore,  with  the  exception  of  one  spare  shirt. 
Our  clothing  consisted  of  a  short  rifle  frock,  vest, 
tow  trousers,  shoes,  stockings,  and  blanket. 
Marching  nearly  the  whole  time  in  the  woods, 
among  the  thick  underbrush,  it  may  well  be  sup- 
posed that  we  had  but  little  left  of  our  clothing, 
on  our  return  to  the  garrison.  Our  feet  were  many 
of  them  bare  and  bleeding.  I  shall  ever  remem- 
ber my  own  situation  at  this  period.  Destitute  of 
shoes,  and  almost  destitute  of  pantaloons,  we  en- 
camped one  night  on  an  open  ground,  covered 

*  The  town  of  Horseheads,  Chemnng  Connty,  Xew  York 
is  the  best  record  of  this  event  which  now  exists.  The  vil 
lage  of  Horseheads  is  no  longer  known  by  its  historical 
name,  but  glories  in  the  meaningless  soubriquet  of  "Fair- 
"port."  H.  B.C. 


26 


with  wild  grass.  In  the  morning,  the  ground 
was  covered  with  frost.  Going  some  forty  or  fifty 
rods  for  water  to  boil  my  half  pound  of  beef, 
Lieutenant  Thomas  Blake,  of  our  Company,  ob- 
served my  situation,  went  to  his  portmanteau, 
took  out  a  pair  of  shoes  and  a  pair  of  pantaloons, 
and  kindly  presented  them  to  me. 

When  we  came  Avithin  a  few  miles  of  the  fort, 
an  express  was  sent  to  the  garrison  for  provision. 
We  halted  till  the  provision  came,  and  with  it  a 
few  kegs  of  whiskey.  We  remained  here  a  clay 
or  two,  to  recruit  our  almost  famished  bodies, 
when  we  again  struck  our  tents  an<!  paraded, 
ready  to  march,  at  the  given  signal.  Immediate- 
ly, we  received  orders  to  stack  our  arms,  and 
every  man  to  powder  his  head  as  white  as  the 
snow  on  the  Alpine  mountains.  This  order  could 
not  be  complied  with,  as  there  was  not  an  ounce  of 
flour  among  the  whole  of  us.  The  Commander, 
being  informed  of  it,  he  sent,  post  haste,  to  the 
garrison  for  a  horse  load  of  flour.  In  the  mean- 
time, every  man  was  ordered  to  shave  his  face,  and 
to  place  an  evergreen  bough  or  bush  on  his  hat. 
The  flour  having  arrived,  and  being  distributed, 
we  immediately  fell  to  whitening  each  other's 
sconces.  No  one  could  be  exempt  from  this  duty. 
Not  a  negro  or  mulatto  could  escape  the  honor  of 
a  white  top  to  his  neck  ;  and  of  all  the  spectacles 
ever  exhibited  to  the  eyes  of  men,  the  sight  of 
nearly  three  thousand  men,  in  rags  and  tatters, 
nearly  naked,  with  the  remaining  parts  of  their, 
garments  hanging  in  streamers  behind  them, 
must  have  afforded  merriment  even  to  the  most 
grave  and  sanctimonious.  When  our  officers 
came  on  to  the  ground,  and  beheld  our  truly  ludi- 
crous appearance,  they  could  not  suppress  the  loud 
laugh  ;  and  even  our  Chaplain  forgot  his  gravity. 

The  signal  being  given,  we  were  under  way  in 


27 


a  moment,  and  arrived  at  the  garrison  about  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  We  were  received  with 
a  salute  from  the  fort,  and  with  three  cheers  from 
the  garrison.  Here  we  once  more  drew  our  full 
allowance  of  provision.  The  season  was  far  ad- 
vanced, and  no  time  was  to  be  lost  in  descending 
the  river  down  to  Wyoming.  All  our  munitions 
of  war  were  placed  on  board  the  boats,  together 
with  the  greater  part  of  the  army.  We  soon 
reached  Wyoming,*  disembarked,  and  marched 
on  to  Easton.  f  Here  we  received  the  Report  of 
the  Committee,  appointed  by  the  General  to  esti- 
mate the  quantity  of  corn  we  destroyed,  belong-, 
ing  to  the  Indians.  It  was  computed  at  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-five  thousand  bushels. 

Whilst  here,  we  were  ordered  to  attend  Divine 
service,  under  arms,  in  a  large  meadow,  to  re- 
turn thanks  for  the  signal  success  of  the  Expedi- 
tion, and  the  unparalleled  health  of  the  troops. 
A  discourse  was  delivered  by  the  Rev.  Ira  Evans, 
of  New  Hampshire. 

We  then  proceeded  in  easy  marches  to  our 
Winter  quarters,  in  full  expectation  of  receiving 
a  full  remuneration  from  Government,  not  only 
for  our  services,  but  also  for  our  back  rations.  In 
this,  however,  we  have  always  been  disappointed. 

The  country  is  now  surrounded  on  all  sides 
with  peace  and  plenty.  No  hostile  foe  invades 
our  shores  ;  no  merciless  savage  thrusts  himself 
into  our  quiet  and  peaceful  dwellings,  to  rob  us 
of  our  security  and  to  butcher  our  defenceless 
families.  The  poor  soldier,  who  spilled  his  blood 
in  the  service  of  his  country,  with  Washington, 
Gates,  or  Sullivan,  will  soon  follow  his  co-patriots 
to  the  grave,  unrequited,  and  forgotten  by  that 

•  On  the  thirtieth  of  September.    H.  B.  D. 
t  Where  they  arrived  on  the  fifteenth  of  October.    H. 
B.  D. 


country  he  once  ' '  so  faithfully  loved  and  pro- 
"tected."  In  our  turn,  we  have  become  the  op- 
pressors of  the  weak  ;  and  the  defenceless  Creek 
and  Cherokee  feel  the  full  force  of  our  insatiable 
avarice. 

May  God  save  our  country  from  ruin  ;  and  may 
we,  in  the  language  of  Mr.  Clay,  "  Never  despair 
"of  the  American  Republic." 


XI. 
TH  E   SPEECH 

OF 

MR.  JOHN  CHECKLEY, 

UPON  HIS  TRIAL  AT  BOSTON. 

IN     1724. 


With  an  Introduction  by  REV.  E.  H.   GILLETT,  D.D 
of  Harlem,   N.  Y. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


THIS  Is  a  careful  reprint  of  the  very  rare  tract  published 
by  J.  Applebee,  in  London,  in  1738,  and  contains  the  verdict 
of  the  jury,  Mr.  Checkley's  Plea  in  Arrest  of  Judgment,  and 
the  Sentence  pronounced  by  the  Court, 

We  are  indebted  to  Mr.  A.  Lloyd,  the  antiquarian  book- 
seller, 115  Nassau-street,  New  York,  for  the  privilege  of 
republishing  it,  and  to  our  untiring  friend,  Rev.  E.  H.  Gil- 
lett,  D.D.,  of  Harlem,  N.  Y.,  for  the  very  carefully-prepared 
Introductory  Note  from  his  own  pen,  which  precedes  it. 

A  few  copies,  exclusively  for  private  circulation,  have 
been  printed  in  this  form. 

HENEV  B.  DAWSON. 

MOBRISAWIA,  N.  Y. 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 


FEW  pieces  in  ecclesiastical  or  theological  controversy  ever 
published  in  this  country,  are.  in  themselves  and  their  re- 
sults, so  memorable,  historically,  as  that  which  appeared  in 
Boston  in  1723,  under  the  title  of  A  Short  and  Easie  Method 
with  the  Deists,  &c.  It  was  the  reprint,  with  slight  altera- 
tions, of  the  noted  work  by  Charles  Leslie,  but  at  the  close 
of  this,  which  extended  only  to  forty-one  octavo  pages, 
was  introduced  A  Discourse  concerning  Episcopacy,  which 
extended  from  the  forty-first  to  the  ore  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-seventh page,  the  whole  closing  with  The  Epistle  of  Ig- 
natius to  the  Trallia~!S. 

The  work  wns  published  at  London,  by  J.  Applebee;  but 
was  "  sold  by  John  Checkley,  at  the  sign  of  the  Crown  and 
"  Blue  Gate,  over-against  the  West-End  of  the  Town-House 
"  in  Boston."  John  Checkley  therefore  might  be  considered 
the  Boston  Publisher  ;  and  the  Discourse  Concfrning  Epis- 
copacy was  drawn  up  by  him,  who  was  compelled  doubtless 
to  send  to  England  to  procure  its  printing. 

Checkley  was  born  in  Boston,  in  1680,  but  his  parents  were 
from  England ;  and  throughout  his  life  he  was  most  untir- 
ingly devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  English  Church.  His 
feelings,  or  perhaps  we  might  say  prejudices,  were  very 
strong,  and  he  was  as  violent  an  Anti-Calvinist  and  Non- 
juror,  as  he  was  Episcopalian.  His  education  was  well 
cared  for.  He  was  placed  at  an  early  age  under  the  care  of 
Ezekiel  Cheever,  and  subsequently  went  to  England,  and 
finished  his  studies  at  the  University  of  Oxford,  although  he 
seems  never  to  have  received  a  degree. 

Abounding  in  wit  and  humor,  he  must  have  been  a  genial 
companion.  After  his  return  to  this  country,  he  fell  in  with 
one  who  was  several  years  his  junior,  but  m  many  respects 
was  fully  his  equal  ;  while  on  the  leading  theological  ques- 
tions of  the  day,  the  two  young  men  held  positions  perfectly 
antagonistic. 


Thomas  Walter,  the  son  of  Nehemlah  Walter,  the  Minis- 
ter of  Roxbury,  was  graduated  at  Harvard  College,  in  1713  ; 
and  it  was  during  his  college  course  that  John  Cneckley  be- 
came his  intimate  associate.  Fond  of  company,  the  learning 
and  wit  of  Checkley  attracted  him  ;  and  he  yielded  to  it,  to 
the  grief  of  his  father,  and  in  spite  of  the  admonitions  of 
his  uncle,  Cotton  Mather,  who  warned  him  to  beware  of  the 
man. 

The  intercourse  between  the  two  young  men  led  to  theo- 
logical discussion,  and  at  length  to  public  disputation. 
Walter  could  appreciate  learning  and  genius :  but  indolent  as 
he  might  have  been  in  study,  he  was  strongly  attached  to 
the  doctrines  and  order  of  the  New  England  Churches. 
Checkley  published  in  1715.  two  years  after  Walter  left  col- 
lege, and  while  he  was  probably  studying  theology  with  his 
father  at  Roxbnry,  Choice  Dialogues  about  Predestination, 
in  which  he  indulged  his  sarcasm  at  the  expense  of  the  Cal- 
vinistic  doctrines  of  the  New  England  churches.  These  dia- 
logues Walter  answered  ;  and,  in  1720,  the  "  Answer  by  a 
"  Stripling  "  was  republished. 

Walter's  reply  may  have  been  the  occasion  of  enkindling 
Checkley's  zeal  for  more  extended  controversy.  But  just  at 
this  time,  from  a  variety  of  causes  which  it  is  not  necessary 
to  detail,  a  very  extended  movement  in  behalf  of  Episcopa- 
cy took  place  both  in  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts. 
Hitherto  the  progress  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  New  Eng- 
land had  been  very  unpromising.  The  violent  wresting  of 
one  of  the  Congregational  Churches  of  Boston  from  the 
hands  of  the  congregation  for  the  use  of  Episcopalians, 
which  occurred  just  before  the  Revolution  of  1688,  had  not 
been  forgotten  ;  and  Episcopacy  found  but  little  sympathy 
or  encouragement  in  Massachusetts.  In  1716,  Benjamin 
Colman,  wn ting  from  Boston,  says,  "  We  have  but  one  single 
•'  Congregation  among  us  of  the  worship  of  the  Church  of 
"  England,  who  are  treated  by  us  with  all  that  Christian  re- 
"  spect  and  brotherly  esteem  and  regard  they  can  reasonably 
"  expect  and  desire."  (COLMAH'S  Life,  84.)  Three  or  four 
years  before,  he  had  written  to  Doctor  Kennett,  Dean  of  Pe- 
terborough, explaining  the  local  zeal  for  Episcopacy  which 
prevailed  in  some  of  the  towns  :  "There  happen,"  he  says, 
"  a  discontented  person  or  two  in  the  place  ;  or  some  differ- 
"ence  about  placing  a  new  house  for  Public  Worship,  or 
"about  paying  their  little  rate  to  the  Ministry,  or  the  like  ; 
"  Immediately  they  are  advised,  or  of  their  own  mind  thej 
"propose  to  themselves,  T 
"'Bishop  of  London,  or  to  tl 
" '  pagating  the  Gospel,  for  a 
"  'land.'  "  He  then  cites  instances  to  illustrate  the  truth  of 
his  statements— as  Braintree,  the  application  in  behalf  of 
which,  Rev.  Mr.  Miles  of  Boston  refused  to  countenance — 
Newbury,  where  a  number,  dissatisfied  about  the  location  of 
the  meeting-house,  had  gone  off  "  only  iu  a  Pett,  and  to 
"save  their  rate" — and  Jamaica,  on  Long  Island,  where 
"Mr.  Hubbard  and  the  people  there,  were  unrighteously 


"dispossessed  of  the    Church  and  Ministry    House  and 
"  Lands." 

But  in  Connecticut,  the  prospects  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
suddenly  brightened.  The  reaction  against  the  disorders  of 
the  ecclesiastical  condition  of  the  Churches  while  left  to 
themselves  and  ex-parte  Councils,  had  been  signalized  by 
the  adoption  of  the  Saybrook  Platform,  in  1708,  and  was  evi- 
dently favorable  to  Episcopal  enterprise.  The  donation  of 
Bishop  Berkeley  to  Yale  College,  and  the  perusal  on  the  part 
of  the  students  of  the  works  of  Episcopal  divines  procured 
by  him  for  the  library,  were  not  without  effect.  The  result 
was  that  eventually  a  very  serious  defection;  helped  forward 
by  influences  from  New  York  Colony,  with  its  Koyal  Gover- 
nor, became  imminent.  In  1722,  on  the  day  following  the 
Commencement,  a  paper  was  presented  to  the  Clergy  and 
others  assembled  in  the  College  Library,  signed  by  several 
prominent  Clergymen  in  Connecticut,  expressing  doubts  in 
regard  to  the  validity  of  Presbyterian  Ordination.  A  discus- 
sion ensued  some  weeks  after,  as  the  result  of  which  some 
of  the  signers  declared  their  scruples  removed,  while  others 
did  not  hesitate  to  avow  their  full  Episcopal  Convictions. 

The  apprehensions  excited  by  their  defection  from  the 

faith  and  order  of  the  New  England  Churches,  extended 

not  only  to  Massachusetts,  but  to  Scotland.    Wodrow  wrote 

to   Cotton    Mather,    on    the   eighteenth    of   March,    1T23, 

''  We  were  very  much  alarmed  and  grieved  when,  by  the  Lon- 

'  don  prints,  we  found  eight  or  ten  of  the  Ministers  of  New 

'  England  (as  they  were  pleased  to  magnify  the  numbers) 

'  were  conformed  to  the  Church  of  England.    It  pleases 

'me  to  hear  that  only  the  treacherous  rector  is  gone  to 

England.    Those  offences  and  defections  must  be  ;  and  I 

'  persuade  myself  Holy  Providence  has  great  end  to  accom- 

'  plish  by  them.    You'll  please  to  continue  your  accounts  of 

'  these  apostates." 

The  expectations  of  many  were  disappointed  in  the 
meagre  results  that  followed  the  movement.  "  Most  of 
"thefew  apostates,"  says  Mather,  "  have  reconciled  them- 
selves to  their  offended  Churches."  But  for  a  time  the  ap- 
prehensions felt  by  the  friends  of  New  England  Church- 
order  were  extreme.  In  1723,  Timothy  Cutler,  the  former 
Rector  of  Yale  College,  returned  from  England,  where  he 
had  been  invested  with  holy  orders — not  alone  as  Wodrow 
supposed — and  became  the  first  Rector  of  the  North,  or 
Christ,  Church  in  Boston.  The  corner  stone  of  the  house 
was  laid  by  Rev.  Mr.  Myles  on  the  fifteenth  of  April,  and 
the  edifice  was  opened  for  public  worship  on  the  twenty- 
ninth  of  December,  1723. 

Two  years  had  wrought  a  great  change  in  the  relative  as- 
pects of  Congregationalism  and  Episcopacy  in  New  Eng- 
land. The  friends  of  the  former  were  full  of  fears,  while 
the  latter  were  jubilant  in  their  anticipations. 

Perhaps  there  was  neither  in  New  England  nor  out  of  it, 

a  more  sagacious  observer  of  the  signs  of  the  times  than 

John  Checkley.    Probably  at  the  very  time  when  arrauge- 

2 


meats  were  making  for  laying  the  corner  stone  of  the  new 
Episcopal  Church  in  Boston,  his  orders  were  being  executed 
in  England  for  a  new  edition  of  a  work,  entitled  A  Modest 
Proof  of  the  Order  and  Government  settled  by  Christ  and 
his  Apostles  in  the  Church.  He  determined  to  circulate  the 
edition  in  the  interest  of  Episcopacy  in  this  country. 

By  some,  the  Modest  Proof  has  been  ascribed  to  Check- 
ley  himself.  (See  ALLEN'S  B'iographical  Dictionary.  Ar- 
ticle J.  CHEOKLEY.)  It  is  possible  indeed  that  it  was  really 
his  production,  but  it  is  pretty  evident  that  he  or  his  friends 
ascribed  it  to  a  Scotchman,  P.  Barclay,  who  in  1713,  publish- 
ed in  London,  his  Persuasion  to  the  People  of  Scotland  in 
order  to  remove  their  prejudice  to  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer,  with  answer  to  the  dialogues  between  a  Curate  and 
a  Countryman.*  Professor  Wigglesworth,  who  wrote  in 
reply  to  the  Modest  Proof,  his  Sober  Remarks  on  a  work 
lately  Reprinted  at  Boston,  entitled  "  A  Modest  Proof, 
"  etc.,"  felt  naturally  some  curiosity  to  know  its  origin.  His 
Scotch  correspondent,  Wodrow,  was  unable  to  inform  him. 
He  could  only  say,  "Mr.  P.  Barclay's  Persuasion,  as  far 
4  as  I  know,  was  not  published  in  Scotland.  We  have  many 
'  of  those  people  that  publish  their  virulent  pamphlets  in 
'England  and  Ireland.  Had  it  been  going  in  Scotland 
'these  twenty-five  years,  I  imagine  it  would  not  altogether 
'have  escaped  me,1' (WODEOW  Correspondence,  iii,  183.) 

Whether  by  Barclay,  or  by  Checkley  who  published  it,  the 
Modest  Proof,  Ac.,  provoked  immediate  controversy.  Pro- 
fessor Wigglesworth  was  perhaps  first  in  the  field,  but  if  so, 
Checkley's  former  associate  and  antagonist,  Thomas  Walter, 
was  not  far  behind.  In  September  (1723)  he  preached  at  the 
Lecture  in  Boston,  on  "  The  Scriptures  the  only  Rule  of 
"Faith  and  Practice";  and  we  shall  not  probably  go  far 
astray  in  identifying  him  with  the  Son  of  Martin  Mar  Pre- 
late, who  was  one  of  those  who  came  forward  to  meet  and 
refute  the  Modest  Proof. 

Still  other  answers  were  forthcoming.  "  The  great  Jona- 
"  than  Dickinson,"  of  Elizabethtown,  New  Jersey,  appeared 
with  A  Defence  of  Presbyterian  Ordination  ;  In  Answer 
to  a  pamphlet  entitled,  "  A  Modest  Proof,  etc.  ;  "  while  to 
Thomas  Foxcroft  has  been  ascribed,  The  Ruling  and  Or- 
daining Presbytery  of  Congregational  Bishops  or  Presby- 
ters j  Being  some  Remarks  on  Mr.  P.  Barclay's  Per- 
suasion, lately  distributed  in  New  England,  By  an  Impar- 
tial Hand. 

Both  of  these,  as  well  as  Thomas  Walter's  Essay  upon 
that  Paradox— Infallibility  may  sometimes  mistake,  were 
not  published  till  1724,  and  evidently  drew  some  of  their  in- 
spiration from  the  provocation  ottered  in  Checkley's  next 

*  A  Mr.  Barclay  had  been  laboring  as  an  Episcopal  Minis- 
ter at  Braintree  in  the  early  part  of  the  century,  and  soon 
left.  Regretful  mention  is  made  of  his  departure.  Could 
this  have  been  the  P.  Barclay,  author  of  the  book  ? 


XI 


publication,  issued  in  the  same  year  [1723]  with  the  Modest 
Proof,  and  only  a  few  months,  or  possibly  weeks  after  it. 
His  repnblication  of  Leslie  alone,  although  Leslie  was  a  con- 
firmed Non  Juror,  and  really  obnoxious  on  a  civil  account — 
would  have  probably  produced  no  effect  and  hardly  have 
commanded  jittention;  but  his  Discourse  concerning  Episco- 
pacy was  a  ".Tract  for  the  Times,"  and  wa  speculiarly  adapt- 
ed to  affect  scrupulous  consciences  a&  well  as  exasperate  all 
whom  it  classified  as  Dissenters. 

He  begins  with  the  assumption,  based  upon  Leslie's  trea- 
tise, that  it  was  "  absolutely  necessary,  that  a  lineal  and  un- 
"  interrupted  succession  of  the  Ministers  of  Jesus  Christ 
"  should  be  preserved."  Without  this.  Christianity  would 
be  stripped  of  an  important  part  of  its  evidences.  The  late 
Mr.  Pemberton,  in  his  Sermon  at  the  Ordination  of  Joseph 
Sewall,  (published  after  his  death,)  is  cited  to  sustain  his 
positions.  Christ  received  his  Commission  from  the  Fa- 
ther ;  the  Apostles  theirs  from  Christ,  and  the  "  succession 
"  from  the  Apostles  is  preserved  and  derived  only  in  the 
"Bishops.7' 

The  Presbyterian  Argument  for  the  parity  of  the  Ministry 
Is  next  taken  up  and  historically  examined.  The  Episcopal 
Succession  in  England  is  vindicated.  The  Cambridge  Plat- 
form is  cited  to  show  that  the  New  England  Churches  "  al- 
"  low  Laymen  to  ordain ; "  so  that  their  Ordination  must  be 
invalid,  and  "  our  Korahites  of  several  sizes  "  are  bidden  to 
"  take  a  view  of  the  Heinousness  of  their  Schism  ;  and  not 
"  think  their  crime  to  be  nothing  because  they  have  been 
"  taught  with  their  mother's  milk,"to  have  the  utmost  Ab- 
"  horrence  to  the  very  name  of  Bishop  :  tho'  they  could  not 
"  tell  why." 

Church  government  is  next  argued  from  its  necessity. 
The  faultiness  of  rulers  does  not  necessarily  vacate  their 
authority  ;  and  some  of  the  foreign  churches  claimed  that 
when  they  withdrew  from  Rome  her  ordination  was  still 
valid.  The  "Dissenters"  also  are  reminded  that  they  are 
few  in  number.  The  great  mass  of  the  Christian  world  is 
Episcopal.  A  citation  of  authorities  in  behalf  of  Episcopa- 
cy, for  the  period  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  years  after 
Christ,  is  also  presented,  embracing  the  language  of  the 
Fathers  and  the  decrees  of  Councils.  Calvin,  Beza,  and 
"  the  rest  of  the  learned  Reformers  of  their  part,"  are  as- 
serted to  have  given  their  testimony  for  Episcopacy  "  as 
"  much  as  any."  Indeed,  "  our  modern  Presbyterians,"  it  is 
said,  "  have  departed  from  Calvin,  as  well  as  from  Luther, 
"  in  their  abhorrence  of  Episcopacy  ;  from  all  the  Christian 
"  world  in  all  ages.  Calvin  would  have  anathematized  all  of 
"them,  had  he  lived  incur  days."  "Our  Dissenters  of  all 
"denominations,  imitate  the  hardness  of  the  Jews,  who 
"  built  the  Sepulchres  of  those  prophets,  whom  their  fathers 
"slew  ;  while  at  the  same  time,  they  adhered  to  and  outdid 
"the  wickedness  of  their  Fathers,  in  persecuting  the  Suc- 
"cessors  of  those  prophets." 

Checkley  next  argues  in   behalf  of  Episcopacy  on   the 


xu 


ground  that  no  date  of  its  original  can  be  fixed  short  of  the 
times  of  the  Apostles.  The  change  to  Episcopacy  would,  he 
claims,  have  been  noticed  and  recorded.  Hence,  the  ordina- 
tions of  Dissenters  "  in  opposition  to  Episcopacy,  are  not 
"only  invaliJ,  but  Sacrilege,  and  Rebellion  against  Christ 
"who  did  institute  this  Society  and  gave  them  their  Char- 
"  ter,  and  if  their  Ordinations  are  null,  then  their  Baptisms 
'  are  so  too,  and  all  their  Ordinances.  They  are  out  of  the 
'  Visible  Church,  and  have  no  Bight  to  any  of  the  Prc- 
'  mises  in  the  Gospel,  which  are  all  made  to  the  Church, 
'  and  to  none  other." 

"  Our  misled  Dissenters"  are  then  told  "  that  when  they  re- 
ceive (what  they  calli  the  Sacrammts  of  Baptism  and 
'the  LyrtV*  Supper  in  their  Congregations,  they  receive  no 
1  Sacraments,  nor  are  the^r  children  baptized  any  more  than 
'  if  a  niiuwif  e  bad  done  it." 

The  argument  against  Episcopacy,  drawn  from  the  inter- 
changeable use  of  the  terms  Bishop  and  Presbyter,  is  next 
considered.  Checkley  attempts  to  illustrate  it  by  the  use  of 
the  Roman  word  Imptrator,  sometimes  rendered  General 
and  sometimes  Emperor.  He  endeavors  also  to  meet  the 
objection  that  Episcopacy  was  gradually  introduced.  He 
then  proceeds  to  apply  h's  conclusions  with  a  force  and 
vehemence  already  foreshadowed  in  some  of  his  preceding 
pages.  He  insists  that  "never  was  a  cause  so  exposed,  and 
"stripped  so  naked.''  as  the  cause  of  the  Dissenters.  He 
assumes  that  their  Ordinations  are  usurpations,  and  their 
Sacraments  impositions.  By  setting  Episcopacy  aside  they 
revolt  and  rebel  against  Divine  authority.  He  appeals  to 
their  fears,  their  scruples,  their  affections  for  their  children, 
their  regard  for  their  own  souls. 

"What  Compassion,"  he  asks,  [page  110,]  "can  they  have 
"  for  their  Under  infants,  to  carry  them  to  disputed  baptism, 
"  when  they  may  have  that  which  is  clear,  and  undisputed 
"  offered  to  them  ?  will  they  present  the  provocation  of 
"  their  offerings,  and  pawn  their  souls  upon  the  greatest  un- 
"  certainty  f  Will  they  dare  to  say,  that  it  is  an  uncertain- 
"  ty  at.  best,  when  they  will  not  because  they  cannot  answer 
"  for  themselves  ?  Is  not  this  to  be  self-condemned  ?  To 
"put  the  stumbling  block  of  their  iniquity  before  their 
" faces,  and  then  come  to  enquire  of  the  Lord  ? 

"  This  I  should  think  were  enong'h  to  rouse  the  conscience 
"  of  any  dissenter  that  is  not  hardened  to  a  stone.  I'm 
"  sure  if  I  was  a  dissenter,  it  would  prick  me  to  the  heart. 
"And  till  I  could  give  an  answer  to  what  has  been  said  in 
"  these  papers,  I  would  never  go  to  a  meeting,  lest  I  perish- 
"  ed  in  their  sin  :  I  would  not  receive  their  sacraments, 
"  lest  I  offered  their  provocations :  and  should  think  myself 
'  guil'y  of  the  blood  of  my  child,  if  1  brought  it  to  their 
'  baptism  :  at  least  my  own  blood  would  lie  upon  my 
'  HEAD,  if  I  did  it  with  a  doubting  mind,  while  I  could 
'  have  that  baptism  which  was  undisputed  to  make  my 
'  child  a  member  of  the  church.  And  how  can  he  who  has 
'  thrust  himself  out  of  the  Church,  admit  another  to  be  a 


xiii 


"member  of  it?  Can  I  make  another  free  of  any  carpora- 
"  tion  who  am  not  free  myself  ?  No.  If  I  am  baptized  by 
"  a  schismatic,  I  am  baptized  into  this  schism,  and  made  a 
"  member  of  it,  and  not  of  the  church  against  which  he  is 
"  in  rebellion  and  open  defiance  to  it.  The  children  of 
"Korah,  Dathan  and  Abiram,  were  swallowed  np  with 
"them.  If  we  will  hazard  ourselves,  let  us  have  some  com- 
"patxion  for  onr  innocent  children  ! 

"  The  charge  upon  them  is  very,  very  heavy  ;  I  must  con- 
"  fess  it  is  exceeding  heavy,  but  it  is  as  true,  as  it  is  great.  I 
"  know  it  will  raise  the  indie/nation  of  many  of  them,  and 
"  I  sbull  hear  it  from  all  hands.  What  !  say  they,  would  he 
"un-church  us,  and  annul  our  sacraments? — would  he 
"  make  the  ordinary  ministrations  of  our  ministers  as  lit- 
"tle  valid,  and  more  guilty,  than  if  performed  by  &mid- 
"  wife  in  case  of  necessity  ?  Where,  where  is  the  modera- 
"tion  of  this  man  ?  Where  is  his  charity  ?  He  makes  all 
"our  meetings  to  be  assemblies  of  Korah,  in  rebellion 
"  against  God  !  We  are  not  able  to  bear  it — we  will  not 
"bear  it — It  is  not  fit  that  such  a  man  should  live  upon  the 
"  earth.  All  this  I  expect  to  hear.  And  now  I  desire  them 
"  to  bear  my  defence.  I  hope  they  are  not  all  provoked  be- 
"  yond  the  bounds  of  reason." 

His  anticipations  indeed  proved  only  too  true,  as  he  found 
to  his  cost.  But  he  proceeds  again  in  the  following  strain. 
[Page  120.]  "  Now  I  beseech  the  Dissenters,  as  they  would 
"  avoid  the  fierce  anger  of  God,  to  look  upon  their  own  sin, 
"in  the  example  given  of  it  in  Korah,  and  which  St.  Jude 
"  says  is  an  example  to  those  who  separate  themselves  in  the 
"  Christian  church. 

"  Now  let  the  Dissenters  see  if  there  be  one  circumstance 
"of  difference  betwixt  their  case  and  that  of  Korah  ?  And 
"their  pretences  are  the  very  same;  even  at  this  day,  they 
"  have  not  departed  from  the  very  words  of  Korah,  for  do 
"  they  not  say  to  their  bishops,  Ye  take  too  much  upon  ye  ? 
"  And  do  they  not  give  the  same  reason,  the  holiness  of  the 
"people,  who  are  GOD'S  heritage,  and  that  the  bishops  do  lift 
"  up  themselves  and  lord  it  over  the  heritage  of  Christ  ? 
"  Are  not  these  then  their  verv  words  ?  And  the  same  pre- 
'  tences  and  the  words  of  Korah  against  Aaron  ?  and 
'have  they  not  made  it  apparent,  that  their  design  was  the 
'  same  with  that  of  Korah,  to  seize  upon  the  priesthood  for 
'  themselves  ?  And  have  they  not  lorded  it  over  the  people 
'  with  tenfold,  the  rigor  that  ever  was  shewed  by  the  bish- 
"  ops  ?  The  little  finger  of  Presbytert/  was  thicker  than  the 
"  loins  of  Episcopacy  !  [as  I  can  fully,  and  will,  make  ap- 
"  pear  if  it  be  deny 'a.]" 

\_Page  124.]  "  And  who  can  appoint  an  ambassador  but  the 
"  King  who  sends  him  ?  Who  else  can  give  him  his  autfio- 
'  rity  ?  How  otherwise  is  the  King  obliged  to  ratify  what 
'  is  signed  by  his  ambassadors  in  his  name  pursuant  to  his 
'  instructions  ?  As  it  is  treason  for  any  subject  to  presume 
'  to  send  an  ambassador  in  the  name  of  his  King,  it  is  real- 
'  ly  taking  upon  himself  to  be  King.  So  it  is  the  greatest 


"  blasphemy  for  any  man  or  me n  to  take  upon  them  to  ap- 
"  point  priests  for  GOD,  that  is,  in  plain  consequence,  usurp- 
'  ing  the  prerogative  of  God,  and,  as  much  as  in  our  power, 
'  to  dethrone  him  and  set  up  ourselves  in  his  place. 

"The  Apostles  call  themselves  ambassadors  of  Christ. 
'  Aud  now  I  speak  not,  (God  forbid  I  should)  of  any  of  those 
'  learned  and  truly  pious  gentlemen  who  are  teachers  either 
'  here  .or  in  other  parts  of  the  world ;  but  it  is  well 
'  known  and  confessed  by  all  who  know  anything  of  the 
'  matter,  that  the  Christian  priesthood  was  never  so  shame- 
'  fully  debased,  as  it  has  been  this  hundred  years  last  past, 
'  since  Christianity  has  been  in  the  world.  I  say,  the  Apos- 
'  ties  called  themselves  ambassadors  of  Christ,  And  now, 
'  every  Tag,  Raff,  and  Long-tail  call  themselves  his  ambassa- 
'  dors  too,  by  a  call  from  the  people !  Good  God,  how  has 
'  the  priesthood  been  vilified  of  late !  Was  it  a  glory  to 
'  Chri.it  to  be  made  a  priest  7  and  now  from  this  vile  prosti- 
'  tution  of  it,  it  is  come  to  be  thought  (among  some  men) 
'  the  meanest  of  employments  and  hardly  befitting  a  gentle- 
1  man  !  " 

It  was  in  this  style  that  John  Checkley  saw  fit  to  express 
himself  at  the  very  moment  when  the  community  was  most 
intensely  excited  by  fears  and  apprehensions  of  the  spread 
of  Episcopacy.  His  offence  was  really  the  insult  which  he 
offered  to  the  religious  convictions  and  long-established  and 
warmly-cherished  belief  of  his  fellow-citizens.  But  it  was 
not  politic  to  persecute  him  for  his  High-Church  views  alone, 
or  his  attack  upon  the  "  Established  order  "  in  the  country. 
He  denied,  indeed,  that  they  were  established,  and  arrogantly 
termed  them  Dissenters ;  and  this  position  he  adhered  to, 
also,  in  his  de!ence.  But  in  the  view  of  public  opinion,  this 
could  only  have  aggravated  the  offence. 

Doctor  Colman  probably  reflected  the  common  sentiment 
of  the  country  on  this  subject  when  he  said  (Life  of  Colman, 
138)  in  his  letter  to  Bishop  Kennett:  "  By  our  present  Char- 
'  ter,  granted  by  King  William  and  Queen  Mary,  our 
'  Churches  are  here  the  Legal  Establishment,  and  our  Minis- 
'  ters,  both  in  respect  of  their  Induction  and  Maintenance, 
'  are  the  King's  Ministers,  as  much  as  even  the  Church  of 
'  England  Ministers  are  in  any  of  the  other  Provinces.  .  . 
'  But  when  I  say  that  our  Churches  and  Ministers  here  are 
'  established  by  the  King's  Laws,  I  would  pray  your  Lord- 
'  ship  not  to  understand 'me,  in  opposition  to  the  Church  of 
'  England,  for  so  they  are  not:  but  if  any  town  will  choose 
'  a  gentleman  of  the  Church  of  England  for  their  Pastor 
'  or  Rector,  they  are  at  their  liberty,  and  he  is  their  Min- 
'  ister  by  the  laws  of  our  Province,  as  much  as  any  Con- 
'  gregational  Minister  among  us  is  so.  So  far  is  our  Estab- 
'  Tishment  from  excluding  others  from  the  common  Rights 
1  of  Men  and  Christians,  and  I  hope  ever  will  remain  so." 

Checkley,  of  course,  took  a  very  different  view  of  the  case, 
and  one  which,  must  have  tempted  many  to  wish  that  the 
question  might  be  brought  to  a  legal  arbitrament.  Moreo- 


XV 


ver,  the  people  of  Massachusetts  had  never  before  had  such 
a  specimen  of  ecclesiastical  defiance  thrown  at  them.  "  Dis- 
tent" was  bearded  in  its  own  chosen  domain ;  and  the 
children  of  the  Puritans  were  confronted  with  a  H  gh  Church- 
ism,  worthy  the  palmiest  days  of  Archbishop  Laud. 

But  how  could  the  offender  be  reached  ?  It  was  impolitic 
to  commence  any  action  against  him,  simply  for  his  religious 
or  ecclesiastical  views,  even  if  that  were  possible.  The 
Ministers  who  were  ready  to  fall  upon  the  Modest  Proof,  etc., 
as  soon  as  it  appeared,  would  not  deign  to  notice  the  Dis- 
course Concerning  Episcopacy. 

It  is  true  that  the  Congregational  Clergy  paid  no  attention 
generally  in  a  controversial  way  to  the  Discourse  on  Episco- 
pacy, appended  to  Leslie's  Short  Method.  They  must  have 
known  that  its  virulent  style  would  render  it  comparatively 
harmless,  and  that  the  N on  juror  principles  which  it  set 
forth,  ni-d  especially  its  views  on  the  subject  of  Baptism, 
were  offensive  to  many  Episcopalians.  Indeed,  the  next  year 
after  the  book  was  published,  the  Bishop  of  London  wrote 
over  to  Miles,  one  of  the  Episcopal  Clergymen  in  Boston,  a 
letter  which  indicated  his  sympathies  strongly  enough  to  sat- 
isfy a  man  like  Doctor  Colman.*  The  Congregational  Min- 
isters may  very  reasonably  have  preferred,  on  other  grounds 
than  relieving  themselves  from  controversy,  to  take  no  notice 
of  Checkley's  publication. 

But  among  them  there  was  one  exception.  Thomas  Wal- 
ter, Checkley's  old  friend  and  companion,  as  well  as  antago- 
nist in  controversy,  now  came  into  the  field— em  /ittered 
somewhat  perhaps— with  his  Essay  on  that  Paradox,  Infalli- 
bility may  sometimes  Mistake,  or  a  Etplij  to  a  Discourse  con- 
cerning Episcopacy,  said  in  a  late  Pamphlet  to  be  beyond  the 
Possibility  of  Reply.  To  which  is  prefixed  Some  JKemarks 
tipon  said  Pamphlet,  Entitled  A  Discourse  shewing  who  is  a 
True  Pastor  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  as  also  Remarks  vpon 
St.  Ignatius'  Epistle  to  the  Trallians.  By  a  Son  of  Martin 
Mar  Prelate. 

In  this  duodecimo  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  pages, 
(1724)  Walter  goes  far  toward  paying  back  Checkley  in  his 
own  coin.  He  says,  for  instance,  "  The  Discourse  of  Episco- 
"pacy,to  which 'I  am  about  to  make  a  reply,  is  Lesly's, 


*  Wells  says,  in  page  19  of  his  Heal  Advantages,  that  the 
Bishop  of  London,  on  the  third  of  September,  1724,  about  a 
year  after  Checkley's  book  was  published  and  sold  in  Boston, 
wrote  to  the  Itev.  Mr.  Miles  concerning  the  dispute  on  the 
validity  of  Baptism  by  persons  not  episcopally  ordained: 
"  Considering  the  views  with  which  this  doctrine  has  been 
"  lately  advanced  here  by  the  Non-jurors,  if  any  Missionary 
"  shall  renew  this  controversy,  and  advance  the  same,  I  shall 
"  esteem  him  an  enemy  to  the  Church  of  England  and  the 
"  Protestant  Succession,  and  shall  deal  with  him  accord- 
"  iugly." 


"  which  he  wrote  in  answer  to  the  Quakers."  "  This  Sneak- 
"  ing  Plagiary,  by  foisting  in  a  few  of  his  crude  notions,  and 
"  impudent  railleries  against  our  Clergy  and  Country,  sup- 
"  poses  to  secure  to  himself  the.  honor  (tho1 1  profess  but  a 
"very  small  one)  of  being  the  author  of  the  whole  book." 
(Page  26.) 

The  most  plausible  ground  of  Proceeding  was  to  arraign 
Checkley  for  his  1ST  on  Jurism,  or  at  least  to  place  this  in  the 
foreground,  and  make  it  a  cover  for  the  real  offence.  He 
would  thus  be  deprived  of  sympathy  from  the  friends  of  the 
English  Government,  or  at  least  of  the  Royal  family,  and 
could  entertain  no  hope  of  relief  by  appeal  to  the  King  or 
Parliament. 

In  Checkley's  Speech  which  follows,  the  facts  of  the  trial 
are  brought  to  view.  He  was  first  arraigned  before  an  infe- 
rior Court,  but  was  allowed  to  bring  his  case  to  the  higher 
Court  and  have  a  Jury  trial.  His  own  defence  is  able  "and 
ingenious,  while  it  reveals  a  man  who  would  not  shrink 
from  maintaining  the  most  obnoxious  positions.  He  was 
fined  fifty  pounds  to  the  King,  and  required  to  enter  into  re- 
cognizance in  the  sum  of  one  hundred  pounds,  with  two 
sureties  in  the  sum  of  fifty  pounds  each,  for  his  good  beha- 
vior for  six  months,  and  also  pay  costs  of  prosecution. 

Three  years  after  the  close  of  his  trial,  he  visited  England 
(1727)  with  a  view  of  obtaining  Holy  orders  in  the  English 
Church.  He  was  then  forty-seven  years  old.  But  a  letter, 
signed  by  two  Congregational  Ministers,  John  Barnard  and 
Edward  Holyoke,  of  Marblehead,  was  sent  to  Doctor  Gibson, 
Bishop  of  London,  stating  that  Checkley  "  was  a  bitter  ene- 
"  my  to  other  denominations,  a  Non  Juror,  and  that  he  had 
"  not  a  liberal  education."  The  Bishop  read  the  letter  to 
Governor  Shute,  then  in  England,  who  confirmed  its  state- 
ments, and  in  consequence,  Checkley  was  refused  ordination, 
and  returned  to  this  country  still  a  layman. 

On  a  second  application,  in  1739,  Checkley  was  more  suc- 
cessful. At  the  ripe  age  of  fifty-nine  years  he  was  ordained 
by  the  Bishop  of  Exeter.  He  returned  to  this  country,  and 
was  sent  as  a  Missionary  to  Providence,  Rhode  Island.  There 
he  ministered,  officiating  at  intervals,  at  Warwick  and  Attle- 
borough,  for  fourteen  years.  He  died  on  the  fifteenth  of 
February,  1753. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  notice  here  the  later  results  of 
Checkley's  publication. 

Nothing  ever  was  published  in  New  England  probably,  on 
the  Episcopal  side  of  the  question,  so  exasperating  as  this 
volume.  The  circulation  of  it  was  revived  ("secretly"  says 
Wells)  in  Connecticut,  in  the  heat  of  the  controversy  be- 
tween Hobart  and  Wells  on  one  side,  and  Wetmore,  Beach, 
and  Johnson  on  the  other.  But  it  proved  somewhat  unfor- 
tunate, by  provoking  Wells  of  Stamford,  to  publish  (anony- 
mously) a  pamphlet,  which  for  popular  effect  was  doubtless 
more  than  an  offset  to  any  Discourse  on  Episcopacy,  and 
which  none  would  have  relished  better  than  "A  SON  OF 
"  MABTIN  MAB  PBELATE." 


Most  of  Wells's  controversial  writings  are  very  decorous 
and  unexceptionable.  They  have  indeed  been  warmly  com- 
mended by  persons  who  did  not  sympathize  with  his  side  of 
the  controversy.  He  did  not  hesitate  to  affix  his  name  to 
them,  nor  did  he  forfeit  respect  by  doiusr  so.  But  he  seems  to 
have  been  provoked  to  retaliation  by  the  circulation,  at  this 
stage  of  the  controversy,  of  Checkley's  book.  He  most  effec- 
tively replied  to  it,  by  taking  only  the  slightest  notice  of  it ; 
but  presenting  another  phase  of  the  matter  in  which  he  con- 
tends more  as  a  humorist  than  as  a  logician,  and  in  which,  of 
course,  he  is  never  thrown  off  his  guard  by  losing  his  temper. 

The  pamphlet  of  Noah  Wells  on  the  Real  Advantages  of 
joining  the  Episcopal  Church  (8vo.  pp.  47,  1762,)  was  pub- 
lished anonymously,  but  for  literary  ability  was  worthy  the 
reputation  of  the  ablest  •\yriters  of  the  day.  It  is  composed 
in  an  ironical  vein  not  unlike  that  of  Swift's  argument  against 
abolishing  Christianity,  and  administers,  under  the  guise  of 
a  friendly  anxiety  for  another,  the  sharpest  rebukes  of  the 
Episcopal  polity  and  practice  in  this  country. 

The  Episcopal  Church  he  represents  as  overshadowed  by 
no  repulsive,  melancholy  doctrines,  or  such  teachings  as  are 
to  be  found  in  the  writings  of  Doddridge,  Stoddard,  Willard, 
or  Colman.  The  New  York  College  which  it  had  established, 
promised  to  be  "  a  relief  to  polite  young  gentlemen  who  are 
"  sick  of  the  severities  they  are  obliged  to  suffer  at  other  Col- 
"  leges."  They  will  be  able  to  get  Degrees  without  over- 
much application  to  their  studies. 

Moreover,  if  a  man  becomes  a  minister  in  Sew  England, 
he  must  not  only  have  professed  "  this  mystical  jargon  of 
"  Calvinism  "  himself,  but  he  must  diligently  explain  and 
warmly  recommend  "  these  ridiculous  whims  "  to  his  people. 
Otherwise,  he  could  not  receive  a  license.  To  this  it  is 
essential  that  he  should  give  "  as  our  famous  Mr.  Rhind  es> 
"  presses  it,"  "  a  long  senseless  story  of  the  manner  of  God's 
"dealing  with  the  souls  of  the  elect,  etc." 

Another  advantage  afforded  is,  that  none  need  scruple  sub- 
scription to  Articles  which  have  no  determinate  sense.  He 
need  not  feel  himself  in  the  least  hampered  thereby.  The 
gentle  discipline  of  the  Church  is  also  a  recommendation. 
It  insists  on  no  Puritanic  Sunday.  In  its  history  is  embodied 
the  account  of  the  Book  of  Sports  enjoined  to  be  read  in  the 
Churches  by  James  I.  and  endorsed  by  his  successor,  Charles 
I.  The  Episcopal  Church  is  not  over  scrupulous  on  such 
matters.  It  is  engaged  to  its  policy  by  its  inveterate  preju- 
dice against  Dissenters  who  murdered  the  "  Royal  Martyr." 
Hence  among  its  adherents  no  grave  melancholy  airs  are  put 
on.  "  An  inviolable  regard  to  the  'Royal  Martyr'  teaches 
"  us  how  to  keep  Sunday." 

The  disturbances  occasioned  by  the  Missionaries  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  in  provoking  controversies  and  divisions 
are  exposed  by  transparent  plausibilities.  The  Church  itself 
is  commended  by  the  fact  that  having  a  King  at  its  head, 
makes  it  more  polite  and  fashionable.  A  great  many  Deists 

3 


are  allured  to  It  by  this  means,  and  make  very  good  church- 
men. 

4n  another  respect  there  is  a  great  advantage  in  joining 
"the  Church."  The  prayers  are  ready  printed.  Its  members 
do  not  sit  drowsily  idle.  They  have  a  part  to  act.  The  his- 
torical character  of  the  prayer,  moreover,  as  that  on  occasion 
of  the  Gunpowder-plot,  makes  us  who  join  in  them  better 
acquainted  with  history,  and  "  more  learned  than  the  Dis- 
"  senters."  The  fact  also,  that  the  prayer-book  contains  no 
forms  for  secret  prayer  is  a  great  relief  by  which  "  our  peo- 
"  pie  "  are  delivered  from  an  irksome  task.  Bowing,  more- 
over, is  a  considerable  part  of  our  religion,  and  of  consequence 
renders  us  more  expert  at  this  senteel  part  of  behaviour. 

Those  who  officiate  have  no  need  to  rack  their  invention 
in  prayer.  This  is  an  excellent  advantage  for  young  gentle- 
men who  "desire  to  be  preachers,  and  are  conscious  to 
"  themselves  that  they  don't  pray  very  often,  and  are  but 
"little  gifted  that  way."  The  prayers  are  so  repeated  that 
the  time  of  service  is  well  filled  up,  and  the  Sermon  need  not 
be  more  than  fifteen  minutes  long,  no  small  advantage  to 
young  clergymen  who  are  not  very  well  acquainted  with  the 
Scriptures,  and  are  less  studied  in  Divinity. 

"  The  Church  "  too  has  "  wonderful  decent  ceremonies." 
They  tend  to  allure  Papists  far  more  than  the  bald  worship  of 
Presbyterians.  Baptism  by  Sponsors  provides  that  the  rite 
may  be  performed  in  a  polite  genteel  manner.  Godfathers 
and  Godmothers  may  oe  selected'  from  the  most  respectable 
families,  and  thus  gain  greater  respect  for  the  ceremony. 
The  sign  of  the  cross  also  "  waves  devotion  "  over  the  whole 
ordinance.  The  kneeling,  too,  is  a  very  reverent  posture. 
The  robes  of  the  clergyman  have  the  advantage  of  comeli- 
ness. "  Can  a  man  put  on  a  black  gown  and  not  be  sincerely 
"  devout,  or  a  white  surplice  and  his  hands  not  be  clean  and 
"  his  heart  pure  ?  " 

Christmas  also  fills  our  hearts  so  full  of  joy  and  gratitude 
to  Christ,  whose  birth  we  then  celebrate,  that  "  we  drink 
"  most  cheerfully  in  remembrance  of  him,  and  spare  neither 
"  punch  nor  good  Madeira." 

The  Music  of  the  Church  is  greatly  improved  by  organs 
which  "  charm  the  ear,  ravish  the  heart,  and  carry  the  souls 
"  of  churchmen  ia  raptures  to  heaven." 

Nor  does  "  the  Church  "  impose  any  rigorous  discipline, 
which  is  a  thing  exceedingly  distasteful  to  fashionable  gen- 
tlemen. The  introduction  of  lay  Chancellors  to  discharge 
offices  for  the  Church  conduces  to  light  censures,  while  offi- 
cers can  become  religious,  as  they  ought  to  be,  by  the  easy 
method  of  partaking  of  the  Sacraments.  A  man  who  pro- 
poses to  enter  the  Ministry  may  likewise  secure  a  good  tem- 
poral support  by  turning  Missionary  for  "  the  Church."  The 
Honorable  Society  who  sustain  him  are  honorable  paymas- 
ters.* The  poor  Dissenting  Ministers,  if  they  get  their  full 

*  There  was  more  truth  than  irony  in  this  statement.  John 


salary,  must  take  it  in  paper,  while  he  is  paid  in  silver  and 
gold,  and  is  as  much  better  off  than  they  as  gold  is  better 
than  paper.  Besides  all  this,  he  may  get  all  he  can  out  of  his 
hearers,  in  addition  to  what  the  Society  gives. 

His  task  moreover  is  comparatively  light.  ''  A  Missionary 
"  who  has  bought  a  good  stock  of  penny  sermons,  may  fol- 
"  low  his  diversions  or  practise  physic,  all  the  week,  and  yet 
"  preach  a  tolerable  sermon  on  Sunday.  He  is  accountable 
"  to  the  Society  only  for  his  conduct."  (Page  40.) 

Nor  is  this  all.  He  has  the  chance  to  rise  to  preferment. 
The  high  dignities  of  the  Church  are  open  to  him.  "  The 
"  great  Cardinal  Wolsey  was  a  butcher's  son."  Here,  then, 
are  preferments  and  benefices  to  fire  the  ambition  of  young 
clergymen  of  learning  and  parts. 

The  writer  confesses  that  he  has  dwelt  on  these  temporal 
advantages  mainly,  but  it  has  been  because  the  hinge  of  the 
whole  controversy  turns  on  them.  In  fact  there  are  good 
grounds  to  believe  that  there  are  ten  times  as  many  converts 
made  by  them,  as  by  all  other  arguments  put  together.  Still 
he  will  make  a  few  remarks  on  the  advantages  which  the 
church  offers  for  the  world  to  come. 

Churchmen  as  a  class,  he  holds,  are  less  affected  than  others 
with  fears  about  future  punishment.  Presbyterians  allow 
that  all  who  are  regenerated  shall  be  saved,  but  the  Church 
of  England  regenerates  all  her  members  by  baptism,  "  wa- 
"  ving  over  them  the  sign  of  the  cross,  by  which  they  become 
"  faithful  disciples  of  the  crucified  Jesus." 

There  are  troubles  among  the  Dissenters  also,  from  which 
Churchmen  have  no  apprehension.  In  New  Hampshire,  the 
former  have  remodeled  the  Assembly's  Catechism.  At  Bos- 
ton a  celebrated  D.I).*  at  the  head  of  a  large  party,  boldly 
and  openly  ridicules  the  doctrines  of  the  Catechism.  In 
Courecticut,  an  Ordination  Council  proves  that  t  ere  is  no 
ecclesiastical  Constitution  of  the  Colony. 

"  The  Church  of  England,"  he  says,  with  special  reference 
to  Hart  and  Todd,  who  defended  the  proceedings  at  Duna's 
Ordination,  at  Walliugford,  "  will  no  doubt  return  her  hearty 
"  thanks  to  those  sayacious  gentlemen  who  have  taken  so 

Brainerd's  salary  as  a  Missionary  to  the  Indians,-  where  he 
was  constantly  called  upon  to  relieve  the  needy,  was  only 
forty  pounds;  yet  he  remarks,  in  a  letter  published  in  Eng- 
land, in  1753,  "  Sundry  of  our  Missionaries  from  the  Society 
"  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts  have  sixty, 
"  and  some  seventy,besides  something  very  considerable  from 
"  their  people ;  I  believe  near  half  as  much  more."  Braiuerd 
questions  whether  such  expenditure  was  wise  or  in  accord- 
ance with  the  intent  of  the  founders  and  donors  of  the  So- 
ciety, supplying  a  plentiful  and  populous  country  like  New 
England,  and  sinking  "  thousands  of  pounds  annually  only 
"  to  gratify  a  few  sticklers  for  a  party."  Life  of  John  Drav- 
nerd,  2C-!. 
'  Rev.  Dr.  Mayhew  is  meant. 


"  much  pains  to  discover,  and  point  out  to  the  world,  the 
"  weakness  and  inconsistency  of  this  (Saybrook)  Platform." 
He  closes  by  intimating  that  if  this  letter  should  be  servicea- 
ble and  the  one  addressed  should  conform  and  take  orders, 
he  could  give  him  further  directions  for  the  successful  man- 
agement of  his  mission,  which  would  furnish  materials  for 
another  long  letter. 

The  Real  Advantages,  &c.,  evidently  hit  the  mark  at  which 
its  Author  aimed.  John  Beach  of  Newtown,  the  former  an- 
tagonist of  the  two  Dickinsons,  felt  called  upon  to  reply  to  it 
in  A  Friendly  Expostulation  with  all  persons  concerned  in 
publishing  a  late  Pamphlet  entitled  The  Real  Advantages, 
&c.  This  was  an  octavo  of  forty-five  pages,  published  at 
New  York  in  1763.  It  is  quite  a  tame  production  by  the  side 
of  Wells's  pamphlet.  The  Author  complains  and  laments, 
and  seems  disposed  to  assume  the  tone  and  bearing  of  one 
who  is  injured  and  wronged  without  having  offered  provoca- 
tion. 

The  controversy  seems  to  have  closed  with  a  publication 
from  the  pen  of  the  Congregational  Minister  of  Newtown, 
who  was  of  course  Beach's  neighbor,  as  well  as  his  successor 
there.  Beach  it  seems  had  published  subsequently  to  his 
Friendly  Expostulation,  &c.,  another  pamphlet  entitled  A 
Familiar  Conference,  &c.,and  upon  its  appearance  was  issued 
Remarks  upon  a  late  Pamphlet  entitled  A  Familiar  Confer- 
ence, Published  by  the  Rev.  John  Beach.  In  several  Letters 
to  a  Friend.  By  David  Judson,  Minister  of  the  Gospel  in 
Newtown.  New  Haven :  1765.  Octavo,  pp.  22. 

In  the  preface  to  this,  Judson  speaks  of  the  preceding 
Pamphlet  by  Beach,  in  which  he  complains  of  his  course. 
But  the  main  controversy  now  has  degenerated  into  a  dis- 
cussion of  Arminian  questions,  and  faith  and  works.  In- 
deed the  interest  of  it  was  soon  to  be  effectually  superseded 
by  the  publications  of  the  two  respective  champions  of 
Presbyterian  and  Episcopal  ordination,  Dr.  Charles  Chauncy, 
of  Boston,  and  Dr.  Thomas  Bradbury  Chandler,  of  Eliza- 
bethtown,  New  Jersey.  Their  writings  commanded  indeed 
the  attention  of  the  whole  country;  and  Checkley  and  his 
opponents  were  heard  of  no  more. 

HABUUI,  N.  Y.  E.  H.  GIU.BTT. 


THE 

SPEECH 

OF 

Mr.  JOHN  CHECKLEY, 

UPON    HIS 

T  R  YA  L, 

At  Bofton  in  NEW-ENGLAND, 

For  PUBLISHING 

The  Short  and  Eafy  METHOD  with  the  Deifts: 
To  which  was  added,  A  Difcourfe  concern- 
ing EPISCOPACY;  In  Defence  of  Cbrifti- 
anity,  and  the  CHURCH  <?/"  ENGLAND, 
againft  the  JBcistS  and 


To  which  is  ADDED, 

The  Jury's  Verdift;    His  Plea  in  Arrest  of 

Judgment;  and  the  Sentence  of  Court. 

The  SECOND  EDITION. 
LONDON: 

Printed  byj.    A?pi.EBEE,in  Salt-Court,  Fleet  Street^ 

M.DCC.  XXXVIII. 


THE 

SPEECH 

OF 

Mr.  JOHN  CHECKLET, 

Upon  his  Tryal  at  Bofton  in 
New  England,  £ffr. 

May  it  please  your  Honours,  a?id  you, 
Gentlemen  of  the  Jury  ; 

My  Counsel  having  made  so  very  good  a  De- 
fence on  my  Behalf,  the  saying  any  thing  for 
myself  may  seem  needless  and  unnecessary. 

And  indeed  it  would  be  so,  if  the  charge  against 
me  was  not  out  of  the  common  Road,  and  very 
extraordinary. 

But  (may  it  please  your  Honours)  I  am  repre- 
sented as  a  Person  Guilty  on  many  Accounts  :  1st, 
For  wickedly  and  maliciously  imagining  and  con- 
triving, l>y  the  Subtilty  of  Arguments,  to  draw 
into  Dispute  his  present  Majesty's  Title  to  the 


Crown,  &c.  2dly,  Of  scandalizing  the  Ministers 
of  the  Gospel  by  Law  established  in  this  Pro- 
vince. 3dly,  I  am  charged  with  falsifying  the 
holy  Scriptures.  ^thly,  With  representing  the 
Church  of  Rome  as  the  present  Mother  Church  ; 
and  lastly,  with  raising  Divisions,  Jealousies, 
and  Animosities  among  his  Majesty's  loving  Sub- 
jects of  this  Province. 

These  are  Crimes  of  a  very  heinous  Nature  ; 
and  had  they  been  as  fully  proved  as  they  have 
been  strongly  suggested  in  the  Indictment,  I  must 
acknowledge  I  should  deserve  a  very  severe  Pun- 
ishment. 

Since  then  the  charge  against  me  is  so  very  ex- 
traordinary ;  since  these  Proceedings,  and  the  Me- 
thods of  my  Prosecution  seem  to  be  something 
NEW  in  this  Country  ;  and  since  I  am  so  fully  con- 
scious of  the  Innocencyof  my  Intentions,  and  that 
I  had  no  Malice  in  my  Heart :  I  believe  your 
Honours  will  readily  allow,  that  to  be  silent,  at 
this  Juncture,  would  look  like  an  Argument  of 
Guilt,  and  be  truly  Criminal. 

With  your  Honours  Permission,  then,  I  shall  go 
on,  and  will  endeavour  to  take  up  no  more  Time, 
than  to  advert  to  such  Things,  not  so  fully  in- 
sisted on  by  my  Counsel,  as  will  further  shew  the 
Innocency  of  my  Intentions,  and  that  I  had  no 
Malice  in  my  Heart,  nor  designed  any  thing  against 
the  Government. 

May  it  please  your  Honours, 

and  you,  Gentlemen  of  the  Jury  ; 
The  first  Passage  pretended  to  be  against  the 
Government  is  this,  P.  63.  "As  the  Necessity 
' '  of  Government,  and  the  general  Commands  in 
"  Scripture  of  Obedience  to  Government,  do  re- 
"  quire  our  Submission  to  the  Government  in  be- 
' '  ing,  where  there  is  no  Competition  concerning 


"  the  Titles ;  that  is,  where  no  one  claims  a  better 
"Right  than  the  Possessor:"  thereby  (saith  the 
Indictment)  subtilly,  by  Arguments,  to  traduce 
and  draw  into  Dispute  the  undoubted  Right  and 
Title  of  our  said  Lord  the  King,  &c. 

But  this  was  not  designed,  nor  can  it  possibly 
be  wrested,  to  hurt  the  Title  of  his  present  Ma- 
jesty ;  unless  any  Person  will  make  it  appear, 
that  another  hath  a  better  title  to  the  Crown  than 
his  present  Majesty  ;  which  I  am  sure  is  not  aver- 
red here,  nor  any  thing  like  it.  For  the  whole 
Sentence  is  no  more  than  an  hypothetic  Proposi- 
tion concerning  Government  in  general  (without 
any  averment  of  any  particular  Government)  ; 
and  founded  upon  this  Maxim  of  the  Law,  that 
"bare  Possession  is  a  good  Title,  till  a  letter  can  le 
produced. 

But,  (may  it  please  your  Honours)  to  shew 
you  farther,  that  I  had  no  evil  Design  against  the 
(jovernmcnt,  I  beg  Leave  to  remark,  and  to  shew 
wherein  I  industriously  alter'd  the  Phrase,  to  pre- 
vent any  such  Misapplication  of  it. 

In  the  Book  from  whence  this  Passage  is  tran- 
scrib'd,  the  Words  run  thus  ;  P.  36.  "  As  the 
'  Necessity  of  Government,  and  the  general  Com- 
'  mands  in  Scripture  of  obedience  to  Govern- 
'  ment,  do  require  our  Submission  to  the  Gov- 
'  eminent  in  being,  where  there  is  no  Competition 
'  concerning  the  Titles,  or  any  that  claims  a  better 
'  Right  than  the  Possessor." 

Here  I  beg  your  Honours,  and  you  Gentlemen 
of  the  Jury,  to  observe,  that  these  expressions, 
where  there  is  no  Competition  concerning  the  Titles, 
or  any  that  claims  in  letter  Right  than  the  Posses- 
sor :  I  say,  these  expressions  in  this  Book,  are  not 
explanatory  one  of  the  other,  but  are  disjunct ; 
and  by  the  Assistance  of  a  few,  useful  Innu- 
endo's, this  expression,  where  there  is  no  Compe- 

4 


tion  concerning  the  Titles,  might  have  been  so 
dress'd  up,  as  to  have  looked  like  something  against 
the  present  Government.  For  every  body  knows, 
that  there  is  a  Competition  concerning  the  Title 
to  the  Crown  of  England. 

But  to  prevent  all  Possibility  of  mistake  con- 
cerning this  Expression,  and  that  it  might  not  be 
pressed  and  forced  to  fight  against  the  Govern- 
ment whether  it  would  or  not ;  in  this  very  Book 
it  is  explained  in  such  a  manner  as  (seems  to  me) 
to  make  it  almost  impossible  for  any  one  but  an 
Enemy  to  the  present  Government,  so  much  as  to 
think  that  these  Words  were  designed  against 
it. 

For  in  this  Boole,  these  Words,  where  there  is 
no  Competition  concerning  the  Titles,  are  imme- 
diately explained  in  this  Manner :  THAT  is,  where 
no  one  claims  a  better  Right  than  the  Possessor. 

And  by  the  Words,  claims  a  better  Right, 
must  mean,  justly  claims  a  tetter  Right. 

And  indeed  it  is  impossible  to  force  it  to  have 
any  other  Meaning,  if  the  preceeding  and  sub- 
sequent Matter,  and  the  Design  and  Scope  of  the 
Argument  be  considered. 

For  it  is  an  Argument  with  the  Dissenters  from 
the  Church  of  England,  in  this  Manner,  viz. 
Episcopacy  was  instituted  by  Christ,  for  the 
standing  and  perpetual  Government  of  his 
Church. 

That  Form  of  Government  still  exists  in  the 
Church  of  England. 

Therefore,  supposing  that  the  present  Bishops 
did  not  derive  there  power  by  an  uninterrupted 
Succession  from  the  Apostles,  but  were  appointed 
by  the  King,  or  by  some  others  not  having  Epis- 
copal Power  ;  yet  since  they  govern  according  to 
that  Form  which  Christ  appointed,  tho'  they  did 
not  come  regularly  by  it,  they  ought  to  be  obeyed, 


until  some  other  person  shall  come  and  make  it 
appear  that  they  have  a  tetter  Right  to  govern  the 
Church,  than  those  in  actual  possession. 

And  the  Reason  for  such  Obedience  is  given, 
viz.  That  if  it  were  not  so,  a  Door  would  be 
opened  to  let  in  Anarchy  and  endless  Confusion, 
if  every  bold  Pretender  to  a  Right  should  be 
hearkened  to,  and  his  BARE  Pretensions,  should 
be  sufficient  to  alienate  the  Obedience  of  the  Peo- 
ple, from  those  in  actual  Possession. 

This  (may  it  please  your  Honours)  is  the  Argu- 
ment. Now  nothing  is  more  plain,  than  that 
every  different  Sect  among  the  Dissenters,  ex- 
pressly affirm  their  own  particular  form  of  (what 
they  call)  Church  Government  to  be  of  Christ's 
Institution,  and  claim  a  better  Right  to  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  Church  than  the  Bishops,  whom 
they  call  Usurpers ;  (particular  Instances  of 
which  I  am  ready  to  produce ;  but  shall  wave  it, 
believing  it  would  be  no  pleasure  to  your  Hon- 
ours at  this  time,  to  hear  with  what  scurrility 
some  imprudent  men  have  treated  that  venerable 
Order  :)  I  say  each  differing  Sect  among  the  Dis- 
senters claim  a  better  Right  than  the  Bishops  ;  yet 
the  Bishops  and  they  only  ought  to  be  obeyed  : 

Why  ?  Because  none  of  these  Dissenters  have 
ever  yet  made  it  appear,  that  their  claim  is  JUST. 

May  it  please  your  Honours  :  This  is  the  whole 
Design  and  Drift  of  the  Argument;  and  I  have 
been  thus  long  upon  it,  to  make  it  appear  to  your 
Honours,  and  to  you  Gentlemen  of  the  Jury, 
that  is  impossible  to  cloath  these  Words,  claims 
a  better  RIGHT  ;  with  any  other  meaning  than 
JUSTLY  claims  a  better  right ;  for  otherwise,  the 
Argument  would  have  no  design,  but  would  be 
glaring  Nonsense,  and  Contradiction  to  the  im- 
mediately proceeding  and  consequent  Matter,  and 
to  the  Scope  and  design  of  the  whole  Book. 


8 


I  hope  your  Honours,  and  you,  Gentlemen  of 
the  Jury,  will  not  take  more  notice  of  an  Innu- 
endo an  Inference,  or  Insinuation,  than  of  an  ex- 
press Declaration.  And  if  there  are  any  Words 
which  seem  to  bear  a  doubtful  Meaning,  I  hope 
your  Honours  will  in  all  such  cases  incline  to  the 
most  favorable  Side. 

May  it  please  your  Honours,  it  is  a  known  Kulc 
in  the  Roman  Law,  In  ambiguis  orationibus  max- 
ime  sententia  spectanda  est  ejus  qui  eas  protulis- 
set.  Wherever  Words  are  capable  of  a  double 
Construction,  there  the  Intention  of  the  Speaker 
is  chiefly  to  be  looked  after  and  attended  too. 

I  have  solemnly  declared,  that  I  industriously 
altered  the  phrase,  and  with  this  very  intention, 
vis.  to  prevent  any  Misapplication  of  it,  as  if  it 
was  design' d  against  the  Government. 

Every  Man  hath  a  right  to  explain  his  own  In- 
tentions ;  and  obscure  expressions  must  not  (I 
hope)  have  Meanings  put  upon  them,  contrary  to 
express  Declarations. 

This  is  a  Rule  in  all  common  and  civil  Cases  be- 
tween Man  and  Man ;  but  in  criminal  Cases,  there 
that  Law  exacts  a  stricter  and  a  nicer  Proof. 
Wherever  the  Life  or  Liberty  of  a  Citizen  is  con- 
cern'd,  there  the  Proofs  ought  to  be  Luce  meridi- 
ana  clariora,  as  evident  as  the  Sun  at  Noonday. 

But  (may  it  please  your  Honours)  what  proofs 
have  been  produced,  and  in  what  Form  have  they 
appear' d  ? — Verily,  in  no  very  comely  Form  ! 
For  they  are  nothing  but  bare  and  naked  Inu- 
endo's  and  Insinuations. 

May  it  please  your  Honours,  I  mention  these 
Maxims  of  the  Roman  Law,  only  as  they  are 
agreeable  to  the  common  Sense  and  Understand- 
ing of  Mankind,  as  Rules  of  Reason  and  Equity  :* 
and  which  (I  would  pers wade  myself )  your  Hon- 
ours will  always  make  the  Rule  of  your  Actions. 


9 


Since  therefore,  I  affirm,  that  there  is  no  per- 
son, who  JUSTLY  claims  a  better  Right  to  the 
Crown  of  England  than  his  present  Majesty,  I 
hope  your  Honours  will  be  of  my  opinion,  that 
he  who  shall  start  at  this  Passage,  and  say,  that 
it  is  against  the  present  Government,  looks  like 
an  Enemy  to  it ;  for,  without  an  Innuendo,  it 
plainly  intimates,  that  he  thinks  some  other  per- 
son besides  his  present  Majesty,  JUSTLY  claims  a 
tetter  Title :  which  is  by  no  means  asserted  in 
this  Passage,  nor  in  any  part  of  the  Book ;  but 
the  direct  contrary. 

Wherefore  I  have  an  humble  confidence,  that 
your  Honours,  and  you  Gentlemen  of  the  Jury, 
will  not  think  this  passage  sufficient  to  make  the 
Boole  a  Libel,  nor  me  guilty. 

The  next  (pretended)  scandalous  Clause  is  this, 
pay.  107.  "Let  then  the  Commonwealth-men  and 
'  the  orators  for  the  Power  of  the  People,  (if  they 
'  will  argue  fairly  and  upon  the  square  with  us) 
'set  down  the  time  when  Monarchy  did  b3gin 
'  in  the  World,  and  see  if  this  Clew  will  not  lead 
'them  up  to  the  Division  of  the  Nations  after 
'  the  Flood,  which  I  am  sure  no  man  (who  has 
'  seen  that  Account  which  Holy  Scripture  gives 
•  us  of  it)  will  venture  to  say,  was  done  by  the 
'  People. 

Thereby  (saith  the  Indictment)  meaning  and 
insinuating,  that  the  Title  of  our  said  Lord  the 
King  to  the  Crown  was  not  good.  Now  to  evince 
beyond  all  Contradiction,  that  these  Expressions 
likewise,  bear  not  the  least  Resemblance  of  any 
Reflection,  upon  His  Majesty's  Title  to  the  Crown, 
I  most  humbly  entreat  your  Honours  to  hear  me 
patiently,  while  I  represent  the  true  design  of 
this  Argument,  and  the  impious  Schemes  against 
which  it  militates. 

First    then:     The    Deists,    (those  Men  who 


10 


would  turn  the  World,  and  even  God  and  Nature, 
upside  down !)  these  men  foolishly  dream  of  an 
independent  State  of  Nature  ;  that  is  to  say,  they 
affirm,  that  once  upon  a  time  (though  they  never 
yet  could  tell  when)  all  Mankind  were  upon  a 
Level,  and  that  there  was  no  such  thing  as  Govern- 
ment in  the  world,  and  that  Tom,  Diet,  and  Har- 
ry, ay,  every  individual  Man,  Woman,  and 
Child  had  a  right  to  the  whole  World  ;  therefore, 
since  God  had  not  instituted  any  Government, 
they,  the  People,  all  of  'em  met  together,  and  (to 
prevent  the  dire  Confusion  that  might  happen 
upon  the  bloody  Scramble  that  was  like  to  ensue) 
they  erected  Government. 

This  (may  it  please  your  Honours)  is  the  Scheme 
of  the  Deists :  And  I  am  sure  I  need  not  tell  you, 
that  it  is  a  direct  Contradiction  to  the  Holy 
Scriptures ;  and  these  Deists  not  believing  one 
Word  in  those  sacred  pages,  no  wonder  they 
talk  so  wildly. 

It  was  the  want  of  Revelation  that  made  the 
ancient  Sages  grope  so  in  the  dark,  and  have  such 
strange  Notions  concerning  the  Or  iff  in  of  the 
World,  of  Mankind,  and  of  Government. 

The  Wisdom  (even)  of  Aristotle  could  never 
give  a  Solution  to  this  single  Question,  Which  was 
first,  the  Hen  or  the  Egg  ?  If  he  said—  The  Egg— 
Then  how  came  this  Egg  here,  unless  some  Hen 

laid  it  ? — If  he  said,  the  Hen  was  first. 

Then  from  whence  came  this  Hen  but  from  some 
Egg  which  must  be  before  it  ? 

This  was  an  inextricable  difficulty  with  Aris- 
totle. But  a  slender  acquaintance  with  the  first 
Chapter  of  Genesis  would  have  informed  him, 
that  as  God"  made  the  first  Hen,  from  which  all  of 
the  same  species  have  been  derived  ;  so  he  like- 
wise created  the  World  and  Mankind,  and  actual- 
ly instituted  a  particular  Form  of  Government, 


11 


giving  to  one  Man  the  Dominion  over  the  World, 
aud  over  all  that  he  had  created  in  it. 

The  God  of  Order  did  not  create  a  number  of 
People  all  at  once,  without  order  and  Govern- 
ment, and  then  leave  them  to  scramble  for  Pro- 
perty and  Dominion,  as  some  Deistical  Republi- 
cans would  have  us  believe  contrary  to  the  express 
Words  of  Scripture. 

And  to  show  that  I  do  not  abuse  them,  tho' 
I  could  bring  a  Multitude  of  Quotations  from  their 
own  writings ;  (but  that  I  may  not  take  up  too 
much  of  your  Honours  time)  I  shall  only  produce 
three  lines  from  their  Veteran  Mercenary,  their 
oracle,  Daniel  de  Foe,  who  certainly  knew  his 
own  Scheme, 

To  be  as  free  as  Nature  first  made  Man, 
E'er  the  base  Laws  of  Servitude  began, 
When  wild  in  Woods  the  noble  Savage  ran. 

This  is  their  wild  Notion  of  an  independent 
State  of  Nature. 

But  the  Vanity  and  Falsehood  of  this  brutal 
Scheme  is  detected,  as  with  a  Sunbeam,  from  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  from  the  first  of  Genesis,  and 
from  the  Book  of  Job,  where  we  are  told  (accord- 
ing to  one  Translation)  Tliat  vain  Man  is  puffd 
up  with  Pride,  and  thinkshimself free-born  like  a 
Wild  Ass's  Colt. 

These  Men  would  have  all  Mankind  such  Sava- 
ges. And  they  are  fitly  called  Beasts,  who  range 
themselves  in  the  natural  State  of  Beasts,  all  inde- 
pendent, and  no  Government  among  them. 

It  is  this  impious  and  Brutal  Notion  which  the 
Argument  in  this  Book  militates  against  and  des- 
troys. 

Secondly,  The  Word  PEOPLE  is  an  indefinite 
Term,  and  the  Republicans  could  never  yet  agree 
concerning  its  true  meaning. 


12 


That  great  Man  Mr.  Locke  expressly  says,  that 
the  free  Vote  of  every  individual  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  the  erecting  of  Government,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  says  that  it  is  impossible  to  "be  had. 
And  nothing  is  more  certain  than  this,  that  no 
Country  or  Nation  can  be  produced,  where  every 
one  of  the  People  hath  a  free  Vote  in  the  choice  of 
their  Rulers.  And  it  is  likewise  certain,  that  at 
the  very  time  -when  the  Democracy  was  most  in 
Vogue,  in  ancient  Greece  and  Home,  all  the  com- 
mon People  had  not  a  Vote  at  the  Election  of 
their  Magistrates. 

The  Athenian  Rabble  did  not  chuse  the  Demar- 

chi, (Here  the  Chief  Judge  interrupted  and 

said,  the  Court  can't  spend  their  Time  in  hearing 
you  talk  about  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  It  is 
nothing  to  your  Case.) 

May  it  please  your  Honour.  By  the  Statutes 
of  Magna  Charta  chap.  29.  5  Edw.  III.  chap. 
9. — and  23  Edw.  HI.  chap.  5.  No  man  ought  to 
be  condemned  without  Answer.  Coke's  4  Instit. 
38.  And  my  Lord  CoTce  says  in  the  same  place, 
That  the  more  high  and  absolute  the  Jurisdiction 
of  the  Court  is,  the  more  just  and  honourable  it 
ought  to  be  in  the  proceeding,  and  to  give  Ex- 
ample of  Justice  to  inferior  Courts. 

I  was  not  suffered  to  defend  myself  in  the 
inferior  Court ;  I  beseech  your  Honours  to  let  me 
make  my  Defence. 

(The  Chief-justice  said,  well  go  on). 

I  say  thenthat  the  Athenian  Rabble  didnot  chuse 
the  Demarchi  ; 

The  Ephori  of  Sparta  were  not  chosen  by  the 
Spartan  Mob  ; 

Nor  did  all  the  Roman  Plebeians  chuse  the 
Roman  Tribunes. 

This  wild  and  impracticable  (pretended)  Power 


of  the  People,  was  never  reduced  to  Practice  by 
any  Nation,  or  among  any  People,  And  it  is  only 
against  this  rude,  confused  notion,  that  the  Argu- 
ment in  this  book  is  levell'd. 

Thus  much  for  this  licentious,  unlimited,"  pre- 
tended Power  of  the  People  ! 

And  as  for  the  pretended  Independent  State  of 
Nature,  I'm  sure  that  could  have  no  Existence  at 
the  Time  mentioned  in  the  10th  of  Genesis; 
when  Nimrod  (in  prophane  History  called  Belus) 
was  King  in  Babylon  and  Asher  built  Nineveh 
the  seat  of  the  Assyrian  Monarchs  ;  both  which 
are  mentioned  in  that  Chapter. 

And  from  Nimrod  we  have  the  names  of  all  the 
Monarchs,  and  their  Succession,  to  the  end  of  the 
Astyrian  Monarchy. 

And  after  that  of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  the 
Greeks  and  Romans ;  and  from  the  Division  of 
the  Roman  Empire,  we  have  the  Succession  to 
the  present  Empire  of  Germany  in  the  West,  and 
the  Sultan  of  Constantinople  in  the  East. 

And  in  all  this  Tract  of  Time,  not  the  least 
crevice  to  let  in  this  wild  independent  State. 

These  are  publick  Matters  of  Fact  in  which 
Mankind  cannot  be  deceived.  Therefore  the  Ar- 
gument in  this  Book  stands  good  and  firm,  and 
may  still,  with  good  Reason,  demand  of  the  Re- 
publicans, at  what  JEra  of  time  they  will  bring 
in  their  Original  State  of  Nature ! 

And  I  have  the  same  humble  assurance  that  I 
had  before,  that  your  Honours,  and  you  Gentle- 
men of  the  Jury,  will  not  think  this  demand,  nor 
the  Argument  against  the  Power  of  the  People, 
as  I  have  explained  it,  any  Reflection  upon  His 
present  Majesty's  Title,  nor  sufficient  to  make  me 
guilty,  nor  this  Boole  a  Libel. 

The   next  and  last  Passage  pretended  to   be 
against  the  government  is  this,  p.  108.     "Was 
5 


14 


' '  there  ever  a  Time  in  the  World  when  all  Mankind 
' '  (all  but  the  Usurpers  ! )  were  all  asleep  ? 

This  Clause  likewise  hath  nothing  in  it  against 
the  Government  any  more  than  the  foregoing. 
And  to  demonstrate  that  it  has  not,  I  must  hum- 
bly beg  leave  to  represent,  to  your  Honours  and 
to  the  Gentlemen  of  the  Jury,  its  true  and  genuine 
meaning.  In  the  Process  of  which  Representa- 
tion, I  shall  be  obliged,  by  the  Nature  of  my 
Defence,  to  mention  the  Asembly  of  Divines  at 
Westminister,  and  other  Great  Men  among  the 
Dissenters ;  but  I  shall  do  it  with  all  due  deference 
to  their  Characters ;  therefore  I  beseech  your 
Honours  to  hear  me  patiently. 

This  Question,  What  think  ye,  my  Friends  ? 
Was  there  ever  a  time  in  the  World  when  all 
Mankind  (all  but  the  Usurpers)  were  all  asleep, 
is  only  an  ironical  Expostulation,  with  those  who 
affirm  the  Government  of  the  Church  by  Bishops 
to  be  an  Usurpation,  and  who  (with  Deists)  deny 
the  uninterrupted  Succession  of  the  Gospel  Minis- 
try. 

The  Book  argues  the  Impossibility  of  such  an 
Order  of  Men  creeping  into  the  Church  all  at  once, 
and  all  the  World  over,  without  any  Body's 
Notice  or  Knowledge !  And  the  Book  is  further 
proving  positively,  that  in  fact,  these  Bishops  have 
always  been  in  the  Church  since  its  first  Institu- 
tion, and  proves  it  by  this  Medium,  vie.  The 
Testimony  of  an  uninterrupted  Succession  of 
Gospel  Ministers. 

And  since  it  is  part  of  the  Charge  against  me, 
that  I  have  ranked  such  with  Deists  who  deny 
the  Succession  of  the  Priesthood  ;  I  shall,  in  the 
Prosecution  of  this  part  of  my  Defence,  (to  save 
time)  answer  both  in  one. 

And  in  order  to  it  I  will  (with  your  Honours 
leave)  entreat  the  Assistance  of  those  Presbyterian 


15 


Ministers,  the  Compilers  of  the  Divine  Right  of 
Church  Government,  approved  by  the  Westmin- 
ster Assembly,  who,  when  it  was  objected  against 
them  by  the  Independents,  after  the  first  Edition 
of  their  Book,  that  by  their  Principles,  an  unin- 
terrupted Succession  of  ordained  Persons  was 
necessary  ;  which  Succession  they  could  not  pre- 
tend to,  unless  they  would  justify  the  Anti Chris- 
tian Ordinations  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  &c., 
they  added  an  Appendix  to  their  Second  Edition, 
wherein  they  considered  the  Objection,  and  re- 
turned an  Answer  to  it  under  these  two  Heads, 
1st,  That  the  Reformation  was  begun  before  the 
Council  of  Trent ;  and  till  the  Council  of  Trent 
the  Church  of  Rome  was  not  so  corrupted,  as  that 
her  Ordinations  were  null.  The  Church  of  Rome 
could  as  validly  ordain  as  baptize,  and  who  did 
ever  question  the  validity  of  her  Baptisms  ? 

2dly,  The  English  Clergy  had  not  their  Ordi- 
nations from  Rome  ;  Christianity  was  verj^  early 
(Anno  63  or  64)  in  Great  Britain,  and  Church 
Officers  were  then  ordained,  and  a  Succession  of 
valid  Ordinations  was  always  uninterruptedly  con- 
tinued. 

I  must  now  (with  your  Honours  Permission) 
seek  for  some  Aid  from  The  Divine  Right  of  the 
Gospel  Ministry,  written,  at  least  authorized,  by 
the  Provincial  Assembly  of  London,  published  in 
the  year  1654,  which  says,  that  Church  Power 
is  first  seated  in  Christ  the  Head,  and  from  him 
committed  to  the  Apostles,  and  from  them  to 
Church  Officers ;  and  they  alone  who  have  re- 
ceived it  from  the  Apostles  can  derive  and 
transmit  it  to  other  Ministers.  All  Ordination  by 
the  People  is  NULL  and  VOID,  as  being  not  only 
not  grounded  on  Scripture,  but  against  Scrip- 
ture. 

And  to  intrude  into  the  Ministerial  Office  with- 


16 


out  Ordination,  is  as  the  Sin  of   Korah  and  his 
Cjmpany. 

The  same  Provincial  Assembly  have  much  more 
to  this  purpose,  in  their  other  Treatise,  called, 
The  Divine  Right  of  the  Ministry  of  England, 
from  whence  (that  I  may  not  tire  your  Honours) 
I  shall  quote  but  a  few  things. 

Chap.  3.  pag.  44.     They  say  they  think  it  no 
disparagement  to  their  Ministry  to  say,  they  re- 
ceived it  from  Christ  and  his  Apostles,  and  from 
the  Primitive  Churches,  through  the  impure  and 
corrupt  Channel  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  ' '  And, 
'p.    43.     the  receiving  our  Ordination    from 
'  Christ    and    his  Apostles,  and  the    Primitive 
'  Churches,    and  so  all  along  thro'  the  apostate 
'  Church  of  Rome,  is  so  far  from  nullifying  our 
'  Ministry,  or  disparaging  of  it,  that  it  is  a  great 
'  strengthening  of  it,  when  it  shall  appear  to  all 
'  the  World,  that  our  Ministry  is  derived  to  us 
'  from  Christ  and  his  Apostles,  by  Succession  of 
'  a  Ministry  continued  in  the   Church  for   1600 
'  years,  and  that  we  have  a  LINEAL  SUCCESSION 
lfrom  the  Apostles." 

Thus  far  the  Westminister  Assembly.  And 
were  it  not  intruding  too  far  upon  your  Honours 
Patience,  I  would  keep  company  with  my  Indict- 
ment (North  about)  to  that  part  of  Great  Britain 
called  Scotland,  and  shew,  that  (even)  the  Gene- 
ral Assembly  of  Scotch  Presbyterians,  held  the 
absolute  Necessity  of  an  uninterrupted  Succession 
from  the  Apostles;  which  I  could  abundantly 
prove  ;  but  shall  wave  it,  and  close  this  part  of 
my  Defence,  with  the  Words  of  that  Great  and 
Learned  Man,  the  late  Mr.  Pemberton  in  his  Dis- 
course of  Ordination,  p.  2.  "It  is  not  to  be  dis- 
puted that  Christ  has  appointed  a  standing 
' '  Gospel  Ministry  in  his  Church,  to  continue  to 
' '  the  Consummation  of  all  things. 


17 


"It  was  not  a  temporary  Constitution,  but  a 
4  standing  Ordinance,  that  there  should  be  in  all 
'  Ages  of  the  Church  an  Order  of  Men  to  repre- 
4  ssnt  his  Person,  publish  his  Laws,  exhibit  the 
'  Promises,  and  administer  Seals  and  Censures. 

41  This  seems  evident  to  a  Demonstration,  from 
'  the  Promise  of  Christ's  Presence  to  be  with  his 
'Ministers  to  the  end  of  the  World.  Matth. 
'  xxviii.  20. 

Thus  far  Mr.  Pemberton.  And  I  firmly  believe 
that  your  Honours,  and  most  of  the  Presbyterian 
and  Congregational  Ministers  in  this  Country  are 
of  the  same  Opinion  with  this  Great  Man.  There- 
fore I  shall  say  no  more  upon  this  Head. 

Believing  that  what  I  have  offered,  will  fully 
convince  your  Honours,  and  you  Gentlemen  of 
the  Jury,  what  is  the  true  Meaning  and  Design  of 
this  Clause,  Was  there  ever  a  time  in  the  World 
when  all  Mankind  (all  hut  the  Usurpers  /)  were 
all  asleep  ;  and  that  it  was  not  spoken  concerning 
Civil  Government  at  all,  and  therefore  impossible 
to  be  any  Reflection  upon  his  present  Majesty's 
Title  to  the  Crown  of  England  ;  and  at  the  same 
time  demonstrate,  that  the  ranking  of  such  Men 
who  deny  the  uninterrupted  Succession  of  the 
Priesthood  ^tnder  the  Gospel,  with  Deists,  not- 
withstanding it  is  part  of  the  Charge  against  me, 
that  yet  it  is  no  Crime  ;  even  your  Honours,  the 
late  Mr.  Pemberton,  the  General  Assembly  of 
Scotland,  and  the  Assembly  of  Divines  at  West- 
minister, being  my  Judges. 

With  your  Honours  permission,  I  shall  now 
descend  to  another  Part  of  the  Charge  against 
me,  and  of  another  Nature ;  viz.  Of  scandalizing 
the  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  by  Law  established  in 
this  Province. 

And  I  doubt  not  but  that  I  shall  fully  clear 
myself  from  this  part  of  the  Charge  likewise. 


18 


Wherefore  in  order  to  my  Vindication,  I  shall 
endeavour  succinctly  to  prove  these  three  Proposi- 
tions. 

1st.  That  no  Acts  of  Assembly  in  this  Province, 
either  ~by  Eight,  could,  or  in  fact,  have  estab- 
lished any  way  of  Worship  and  Ministry  whether 
Presbyterian  or  Congregational;  so  as  to  make 
THAT  the  Establishment,  and  the  Episcopal 
Churches  to  be  Dissenters. 

2dly,  That  by  a  just  and  true  Construction  of 
the  Laws  of  this  very  Province,  the  Church  of 
England  is  established  here. 

%dly,  That  by  the  Laws  of  England,  the  Church 
of  England,  as  established  in  England,  and  NO 
OTHER,  is  positively  established  in  all  his  Majesty's 
Plantations. 

I  shall  now  endeavor  to  prove  the'first  Part  of 
the  first  proposition,  viz.  That  no  acts  of  this 
Province,  by  Bight,  could  establish  any  way.  of 
Worship  and  Ministry,  so  as  to  make  THAT  the 
Establishment,  and  the  Episcopal  Churches  to  be 
Dissenters. 

May  it  please  your  Honours.  As  the  Books 
say,  a  Law  made  against  the  Law  of  God  is  void  ; 
so  the  Charter  to  this  Province  from  whence  we 
derive  our  power  to  make  Acts  and  Laws,  reserves 
and  expressly  provides,  that  no  Act  shall  be 
made  repugnant  to  the  Laics  of  England,  which 
therefore,  if  made,  would  be  ipso  facto  VOID. 

If  therefore  I  can  prove,  that  the  Church  of 
England  is  by  the  Laws  of  England  established 
in  the  Plantations,  AND  NO  OTHER  ;  then  the 
establishing  any  OTHER,  and  making  the  Church 
of  England  to  be  Dissenters,  is  plainly  repug- 
nant to  the  Laws  of  England,  and  consequently 
inconsistent  with  and  against  our  Charter,  and 
therefore  VOID. 

As  to  the  Second  Part  of  the    first   Proposi- 


19 


tion. — viz. — That  no  Laws  of  this  Province,  in 
fact,  have  established  any  way  of  Worship  and 
Ministry,  so  as  to  make  THAT  the  Establishment, 
and  the  Episcopal  Churches  to  be  Dissenters. 

May  it  please  your  Honours,  and  you  Gentle- 
men of  the  Jury :  Had  these  Acts  (for  Instance) 
confirmed  the  Plat-form,  and  the  Ministry  pur- 
suant to  that,  then  in  Fact  they  had  (or  at  least 
had  attempted  to  have)  established  another  Way 
and  Ministry. 

But  these  Laws  make  use  only  of  general  Terms, 
hi  relation  to  any  way  of  Worship  and  Ministry, 
without  ever  mentioning  either  the  Presbyterian 
or  Cmgregational  by  Name ;  therefore  I  humbly 
conceive  that  neither  of  these  can  be  the  Establish- 
ment, to  the  Exclusion  of  the  Episcopal  Churches, 
and  so  as  to  make  them  the  Dissenters. 

I  shall  now  endeavour  to  make  good  my 
Second  Proposition,  which  is  this,  That  by  a  just 
and  true  Construction  of  the  Laws  of  this  very 
Province,  the  Church  of  England  is  established 
here. 

And  in  order  to  it,  I  must  ask  leave  of  your 
Honours  to  premise  a  few  things  : — 

1st.  That  where  the  Acts  of  Assembly  make 
use  of  any  Words,  and  do  not  explain  what  they 
mean  by  them,  I  humbly  conceive,  that  such 
Words  shall  be  construed  according  to  the  Laws 
of  England. 

As  for  Instance,  the  word  Libel  and  Defama- 
tion in  the  Act  about  Criminals.  The  word  Fee 
Simple  in  the  Act  for  Distribution  of  Inheri- 
tances-, &c. 

2dly,  Where  two  Expositions  may  be  of  an  Act, 
and  the  one  is  agreeable  to  the  Laws  of  England, 
and  the  other  contrariant  or  repugnant  to  them, 
I  most  humbly  believe,  that  your  Honours  will 
take  it  in  the  first  sense,  and  not  in  the  latter. 


20 


Now  without  reciting  all  the  Laws  relating  to 
Public  Worship  and  Ministry,  which  would  take 
up  too  much  time,  though  I  have  them  all  ready, 
if  your  Honours  shall  think  it  necessary,  I  believe 
it  will  be  sufficient  to  remark,  that  the  acts  of 
Assembly  make  use  ONLY  of  indefinite  Expressions 
and  general  Terms. 

For  Example,  in  the  4iA  and  5th  of  William 
and  Mary,  the  Act  makes  mention  of  a  gathered 
Church,  and  provides,  that  the  Minister  shall  be 
chosen  according  to  the  Direction  given  in  the 
Word  of  God  ;  and  the  Laws  likewise  ordain  that 
each  Town  shall  have  an  Orthodox  Minister,  or 
Ministers. 

But  these  Acts  no  where  explain  what  those 
Directions  in  the  Word  of  God  are,  nor  what  is 
meant  by  an  Orthodox  Minister. 

So  that,  I  humbly  conceive,  Recourse  must  be 
had  to  the  Laws  of  England,  as  is  usual  in  like 
cases,  to  know  the  true  and  undisguised  meaning 
of  these  general  Terms  and  indefinite  Expres- 
sions. 

And  I  am  sure  I  need  not  inform  your  Honours 
what  the  Laws  of  England  mean  by  the  Words 
Church  and  Orthodox  Minister. 

But  that  the  Gentlemen  of  the  Jury  (who  can't 
be  supposed  to  be  so  well  acquainted  with  the 
Laws  of  England)  may  know  what  they  mean,  I 
most  humbly  entreat  your  Honours  patience,  while 
I  recite  Part  of  the  12th  of  Eliz.  Chapter  12. 
which  was  designed  to  settle  Orthodoxy,  and  de- 
clares who  shall  be  deemed  Orthodox  Ministers. 
The  Act  runs  thus, 

"  That  the  Churches  of  the  Queen's  Majesty's 
"  Dominions  may  be  served  with  Pastors  of  sound 
' '  Religion  :  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Authority  of 
' '  the  present  Parliament,  That  every  Person  un- 
"  der  the  Degree  of  a  Bishop,  which  doth  or  shall 


"pretend  to   be  a  Priest,  or  Minister  of  God's 
"  Holy  Word  and  Sacraments,  by  reason  of  any 
' '  other  Form  of  Institution,  Consecration  or  Or- 
"  dering,  than  the  Form  set  forth  by  Parliament, 
'  in  the  Time  of  the  late  King  of  most  worthy 
'  Memory,  King  Edward  VI.  or  now  used  in  the 
'Reign  of  our  most  gracious  Sovereign  Lady, 
'shall  in  the  Presence  of  the  Bishop,   &c.,  de- 
'  clare  his  assent,  and  subscribe  to  all  the  Articles 
' '  of  Religion,  comprized  in  a  Book  Imprinted, 
' '  Entituled,  Articles,  whereupon  it  was  agreed,  &c . 
These  (May  it  please  your  Honours)  are  the  Ar- 
ticles of  the  Church  of  England ;  And    ' '  (says 
"my  Lord  Chief  Justice    Coke)  the  subscription 
"  hereby  required  is  to  three  Articles. 

"  The  1st  is,  That  the  King's  Majesty,  under 
"  God,  is  the  only  supream  Governor  of  the 
"  Realm,  and  all  other  his  Highness's  Dominions 
"  and  Countries. 

"  2dly.  That  the  Book  of  the  Common-Prayer, 
' '  and  of  Ordering  of  Bishops,  Priests  and  Dea- 
"  cons,  containeth  nothing  in  it  contrary  to  the 
"Word  of  God,  &c. 

"3(%  That  he  alloweth  of  the  said  XXXIX 
"  Articles  of  Religion,  and  acknowledged  them 
"to  be  agreeable  to  the  Word  of  God. 

After  reciting  these  three  Articles,  my  Lord  Coke 
goes  on, — And  I  heard  Wray,  Chief  Justice 
"on  the  King's  Bench  Pasch.  23d  of  Eliz.  re- 
' '  port ;  That  where  one  Smith  subscribed  to  the 
"said  XXXIX  Articles  of  Religion,  with  this 
"  Addition,  (So  far  forth  as  the  same  were  agree- 
' '  able  to  the  Word  of  God)  that  it  was  resolved 
"  by  him,  and  all  the  Judges  of  England,  that 
"  the  Subscription  was  not  according  to  the  Sta- 
"  tute  of  the  13th  of  Eliz.  because  the  Statute  re- 
"  quires  an  absolute  Subscription,  and  this  Sub- 
"scription  made  it  conditional;  and  that  this 
6 


22 


'  Act  was  made  for  avoiding  Diversity  of  Opini- 
'  ons,  &c.,  and  by  this  Addition  the  Party  might, 
'  by  his  own  private  Opinion,  take  some  of  them 
'  to  be  against  the  Word  of  God  ;  and  by  this 
'  means  Diversity  of  Opinions  should  not  be 
'  avoided,  which  was  the  Scope  of  the  Statute  ; 
'  and  the  very  Act  itself,  made  touching  Sub- 
'  scriptions,  hereby  of  none  effect.  Coke  4.  Inst. 
'324. 

Now  (may  it  please  your  Honours)  if  a  Person 
(though  episcopally  ordained)  who  refuses  to 
give  his  Assent  and  Consent  to  these  three  Articles 
absolutely,  and  without  any  Condition  or  Reser- 
vation, shall  not,  by  all  the  Judges  of  England, 
be  deemed  Orthodox,  or  of  Sound  Religion ; 
(which  is  one  and  the  same  thing)  much  less  (in 
my  humble  opinion)  shall  a  Dissenting  Teacher, 
who  absolutely  condemns  Subscription,  and  im- 
agines that  those  who  impose  it,  have  not  right 
Opinions  of  Religion,  or  are  not  of  Sound  Reli- 
gion, or  Orthodox :  I  say,  such  a  person  (certain- 
ly) by  the  Laws  of  England,  will  not  be  allowed 
to  be  of  Sound  Religion  or  Orthodox  ! 

Who  likewise,  in  the  Eye  of  the  Law  of  Eng- 
land, is  mere  laicus,  not  in  Holy  Orders,  but  a 
mere  Lay-Man. 

Since  then  the  Laws  of  England  allow  no 
Minister  to  be  Orthodox,  but  he  who  is  Episco- 
pally Oi'dained,  and  who  subscribes  the  abovesaid 
three  Articles,  which  is  a  Minister  of  the  Church 
of  England. 

And  inasmuch  as  by  the  Acts  of  Assembly  of 
this  Province,  an  Orthodox  Ministry  is  established 
in  every  Town  ; 

Therefore,  by  a  just  and  true  Construction  of 
the  Laws  of  this  very  Province  (unless  they  are 
repugnant  to  the  Laws  of  England)  the  Ministers 
of  the  Church  of  England  are  established  HERE. 


I  beg  leave  to  remark  under  this  head,  that 
our  present  Govcrnour  Col.  Shute,  in* his  Order 
to  the  Magistrates  of  Bristol,  &c.,  -wherein  he  pro- 
hibits their  taxing  the  Churchmen  towards  the 
maintenance  of  any  other  Ministers  of  any  other 
profession  than  Episcopal,  calls  the  Church  of 
England  the  established  Church  here. 

And  the  late  Governour,  Col.  Dudley,  (by  wise 
Men  deservedly  acknowledged  the  wisest  Man 
that  ever  was  in  this  Country,)  in  a  like  Order,  in 
Favor  of  the  Church  at  Newbury,  declares  the 
Church  of  England  to  be  the  established  Church  ; 
and  speaking  of  their  Proceedings  for  settling  a 
Church  there,  says,  that  they  are  according  to 
Law,  and  that  they  ought  to  be  suffered  to  go 
peaceably  on  for  their  good  Establishment. 
May  it  please  your  Honours  ; 

The  Opinion  of  this  great  and  wise  Man,  was 
founded  upon  his  exact  knowledge  of  the  Laws 
of  England ;  some  of  which  (by  your  Honours 
permission)  I  shall  now  produce,  in  order  to  make 
good  my  third  Proposition  ;  viz. 

That  by  the  Laws  of  England,  the  Church  of 
England,  as  established  in  England,  and  NO 
OTHER  is  positively  established  in  all  His  Majesty's 
Plantations. 

May  it  please  your  Honours,  and  you 
Gentlemen  of  the  Jury  ; 

The  Common  Law,  and  especially  Magna  Char- 
ta,  is  allowed  to  be  the  Law  of  the  Plantations,  and 
every  Englishman's  Birth-Right.  And  by  that, 
the  Holy  Church,  i.  e.  the  Church  of  England, 
is  for  ever  inviolably  confirmed. 

The  Church  reformed,  and  confirmed,  and  es- 
tablished by  the  2d,  3d,  5th,  6th,  of  Edw.  VI. 
mentions  England,  Wales,  Calais,  and  the  Mar- 


24 


ches  thereof,  and  other  the  King's  Dominions, 
and  says",  the  Inhabitants  of  this  Realm,  and 
other  his  Majesty's  Dominions. 

This  was  repeal'd  by  the  1st  of  Mary ;  but  the 
1st  of  Elizabeth  took  off  that  Repeal ;  and  men- 
tions again  the  Realm  of  England,  Wales,  or 
Marches  of  the  same,  and  (or)  other  the  Queen's 
Dominions ;  —  and  in  the  conclusion  expressly 
inhibits  any  other  to  be  established  within  the 
Realm,  or  any  other  the  Queen's  Dominions  or 
Countries. 

The  13th  of  Eliz.  which  declares  who  are  Or- 
thodox Ministers,  entitled  an  Act  for  the  Minis- 
ters of  the  Church  to  be  of  sound  Religion, — and 
provides,  That  the  Churches  of  the  Queen's  Ma- 
jesty's Dominions  may  be  served  with  sound  Min- 
isters, &c. — qualified  as  in  the  Act. 

Now,  (may  it  please  your  Honours)  I  humbly 
conceive  that  by  King's  Dominions  must  be  meant 
not  only  the  THEN  Dominions,  but  what  shall  be 
the  King's  Dominions  at  all  times,  while  that 
Law  remains  in  force. 

As  (for  Instance)  Acts  of  Trade  that  extend 
to  the  Plantations,  bind  new  or  acquired  places, 
added  to  the  King's  Dominions,  after  such  Acts 
were  made. 

And  the  1 2th  of  Charles  II.  which  was  made 
after  the  settlement  of  these  Colonies,  confirms 
those  former  Acts,  that  mention  the  King's  or 
Queen's  Dominions  or  Countries. 

But  above  all,  the  5th  of  Q.  Anne,  entituled,  An 
Act  for  securing  the  Church  of  England,  as  by 
Law  established,  reinforces  and  confirms  the  13th 
of  Eliz.  and  the  12th  of  Charles  II. — and  pro- 
vides, That  the  King  shall  swear  to  maintain  the 
said  Settlement,  (i.  e.  by  the  said  Acts,  which 
acts  comprehend .the  King's  Dominions  or  Coun- 
tries) of  the  Church  of  England,  and  the  Gov- 


eminent  thereof,  as  by  Law  established  within  the 
Kingdoms  of  England  and  Ireland,  Dominion 
of  Wales,  and  Town  of  Berwick  upon  Tweed, 
and  the  Territories  thereunto  belonging. 

And  immediately  declares,  that  this  Act  shall 
be  held  a  fundamental  and  essential  Part  of  any 
Union  between  the  two  Kingdoms. 
May  it  please  your  Honours  ; 

By  all  the  foregoing  Acts,  and  by  this  Act  in  par- 
ticular, it  appears,  that  the  Church  of  England 
as  established  in  England  and  no  OTHER,  is  es- 
tablish'd  in  all  his  Majesty's  Plantations. 

And  by  the  same  Act  it  appears,  that  to  es- 
tablish any  OTHER  would  be  a  Breach  of  the 
Union  between  the  two  Kingdoms. 

Therefore  I  humbly  hope,  that  neither  your 
Honours,  nor  you  Gentlemen  of  the  Jury,  will 
look  upon  this  Book,  as  written  to  the  Scandal  of 
the  Ministers  of  the  Gospel,  established  by  Law, 

in  this  Province  ; for  it  is  a  defence  of  THEM 

and  their  SACRED  CHARACTER. 
May  it  please  your  Honours  ; 

I  have  a  great  deal  more  to  say  in  my  Defence  ; 
but  perceiving  that  so  much  Time  is  already 
lapsed,  I  shall  omit  it,  only  begging  leave  to  say 
some  few  Things  to  the  Jury. 

Gentlemen,  I  would  have  you  seriously  consider 
what  you  are  about. 

Remember  that  the  Book  indicted  is,  The  Short 
and  Easy  Method  with  the  DEISTS,  an  NO  other  ; 
a  Book  wrote  in  Defence  of  Christianity,  in  De- 
fence of  our  Holy  Faith,  against  the  blaspheming 
Deists. 

And  tho'  there  are  some  Passages  in  the  Indict- 
ment, which  are  spoken  of  the  Congregational  and 
Presbyterian  Ministers  in  this  Country ;  yet  I 
would  have  you  consider,  that  these  Passages  are 
not  in  the  Boole  indicted,  but  in  another. 


26 


But  granting  that  they  were  there,  I  beseech 
you,  gentlemen,  to  reflect  with  yourselves,  whether 
those  Gentle  methods  of  reasoning  and  perswad- 
ing  and  those  tender  and  compassionate  Expostu- 
lations with  those  Gentlemen,  to  make  them  seri- 
ously consider  with  themselves,  of  the  Validity 
of  that  Commission  by  which  they  act : — I  say, 
reflect  (Gentlemen)  whether  this  looks  like  Malice, 
and  whether  it  should  bring  upon  me  such  a 
severe  Prosecution,  and  is  sufficient  to  demonstrate 
me  a  Criminal. 

I  would  have  you  consider  that  I  have  suffered 
very  much  already  on  account  of  my  Religion. 
May  it  please  your  Honours  ; 

I  shall  now  conclude,  only  beg  leave  to  render 
Thanks  for  the  Liberty  granted  to  me  (which  was 
deny'd  me  at  the  Sessions)  of  making  so  particu- 
lar a  Defence ;  and  if  in  the  Prosecution  of  it  I 
have  said  any  thing  ungrateful  to  your  Honours. 
I  am  sure  you  will  forgive  me  when  you  consider, 
that  the  nature  of  the  Charge  against  me  obliged 
me  to  such  a  manner  of  Defence. 

Wherefore,  without  any  further  Apology,  I  shall 
submit  it  to  your  Honours,  and  to  you  Gentlemen 
of  the  Jury,  with  all  that  Humility  that  becomes 
a  Christian.  Hoping,  nay,  being  well  assured, 
that  you  will  not  find  me  guilty,  nor  this  Book  a 
Libel. 

The  Jury's  Verdict. 

John  Checlcley ) 

adsect' 
Dom.  Reg.      ) 

The  Jury  find  specially  ;  viz.  If  the  Book  en- 
tituled,  A  Short  and  Easy  Method  with  the  DEISTS, 
containing  in  it  a  Discourse  concerning  Episco- 
pacy, (published  and  many  of  them  sold  by  the 
said  Checkley)  be  a  false  and  scandalous  Libel; 


t hen  we  find  the  said  Checkley  guilty  of  all  and 
every  part  of  the  Indictment  (excepting  that  sup- 
posed to  traduce  and  draw  into  dispute  the  un- 
doubted Right  and  Title  of  our  Sovereign  Lord 
King  George  to  the  Kingdoms  of  Great-Britain 
and  Ireland,  and  the  Territories  thereto  belonging) 
— But  if  the  said  Boole,  containing  a  Discourse 
concerning  Episcopacy  as  aforesaid,  ~be  not  a  false 
and  scandalous  Libel;  Then  we  find  him  not  guilty. 
Att.  Samuel  Tyley,  Clerc. 

The  Plea  in  Arrest  of  Judgment. 

May  it  please  your  Honours, 

Notwithstanding  that  I  have  been  heard  so  fully 
by  my  Counsel,  in  Arrest  of  Judgment ;  I  must 
yet  beg  leave  of  your  Honours,  to  say  something 
further  myself  on  the  same  Plea,  Why  Judgment 
ought  to  be  Arrested. 

May  it  please  your  Honours; 

Upon  my  Trial  at  the  Sessions,  it  was  often  de- 
clar'd  from  the  Bench,  that  they  would  not  have  me 
suppose,  that  I  was  to  be  tried  for  writing  any 
Thing  in  the  Defence  of  the  Church  of  England 
and  of  Episcopacy,  against  the  Presbyterian  or 
Congregational  Ministers  in  this  Country : — NO, 
by  no  means!  for  the  ministers  were  able  to 
defend  themselves. 

And  to  demonstrate  to  your  Honours,  that  their 
Worships  designed  to  amend  the  Indictment  in 
that  Particular,  they  ordered  the  Attorney-General 
to  insist  upon  those  three  clauses  only  (pretended 
to  be)  against  the  Government. 

The  Jury  found  me  guilty  of  imagining  and 
contriving,  by  the  Subtility  of  Arguments,  to 
traduce  the  Title  of  his  present  Majesty. 

(For  it  cannot  be  supposed,  that  they  found  me 
guilty  of  any  thing  else,  since  that  and  that 


28 


only,  by  order  of  the  Worshipful  Bench,  was  all 
the  Charge  against  me.) 

And  an  heavy  Judgment  was  thereupon  given. 
From  which  Judgment  I  appealed  to  this  Hon- 
ourable Court ;  and  after  a  full  and  fair  Hearing, 
have  been  acquitted  absolutely  by  a  Verdict  of 
Twelve  Men,  from  being  guilty  of  traducing  and 
drawing  into  dispute  the  undoubted  Right  and 
Title  of  our  Sovereign  Lord  King  George,  to  the 
Kingdoms  of  Great-Britain  and  Ireland,  and  the 
Territories  thereto  belong. 

This  was  the  Charge  against  me,  and  of  this 
and  this  only,  was  I  found  guilty  in  the  Lower 
Court. 

But  the  Verdict  of  the  Jury  in  this  Honourable 
Court,  is  an  absolute  Reversion  of  the  Jury's  Ver- 
dict before  the  Sessions. 

Wherefore  I  humbly  hope,  that  this  alone  (if 
there  were  nothing  else)  will  be  thought  sufficient 
why  Judgment  should  not  be  given  against  me. 

For,  with  all  due  Submission,  I  cannot  yet 
believe,  that  your  Honours,  in  your  superour  Wis- 
dom, will  ever  give  the  least  Occasion  for  the 
World  to  say,  that  the  very  formal  Reason  of  my 
Condemnation  was  my  publishing  a  Book  en- 
tituled  "A  Short  and  Easy  Method  witli  the 
"  Deists,  wherein  the  Certainty  of  the  Christian 
"Religion  is  demonstrated  by  inf  alii  able  proof 
"  from  four  Rules,  which  are  incompatible  to  any 
"Imposture  that  ever  yet  has  been,  or  can  possi- 
"bly  be. 

To  which  was  added  another  in  Defence  of  the 
sacred  and  venerable  Order  of  Bishops,  and  in 
Defence  of  the  Church  of  England,  in  whose 
salutary  Communion  (by  the  Grace  of  God)  / 
purpose  to  live  and  die. 

Nor  can  I  possibly  imagine,  that  this  Honoura- 
ble Court  will  give  the  least  Umbrage  to  People 


for  their  supposing  that  your  Honours  think  the 
Justices  at  the  Sessions,  did  not  put  my  Trial 
upon  a  right  Footing ;  or  that  their  Worships 
spoke  unadvisedly,  when  they  said,  The  Ministers 
can  defend  themselves. 

There  are  likewise  other  Things,  which,  in  my 
humble  Opinion,  are  worthy  of  the  Notice  of  this 
Honourable  Court,  before  Judgment  is  given 
against  me. 

The  Jury  have  brought  in  a  special  Verdict, 
and  have  not  declared  the  Book  a  Libel,  that 
being  left  with  your  Honours,  whether  you  will 
adjudge  it  so  or  not. 

And  that  the  Book  may  not  be  condemned  as 
a  Libel,  I  humbly  beg  leave  to  remark  these  few 
Things  for  your  Honours  consideration. 

It  is  a  ruled  case  in  my  Lord  Golems  4  Instit. 
235.  &.  That  if  one  shall  say  of  a  Merchant,  That 
he  is  a  Bankrupt,  or  would  be  a  Bankrupt  within 
two  Days  ;  the  Words  contain  Matter  of  a  Libel, 

and  are  actionable. But  I  humbly  conceive, 

that  if  the  Merchant,  of  whom  the  Words  were 
spoken,  was  actually  declared  a  Bankrupt  by  the 
Laws  of  the  Land,  at  the  Time  when  the  Words 
were  spoken ;  the  Words  would  not  contain  in 
them  the  Matter  oj  a  Libel  respecting  that  Man, 
and  consequently  not  actionable. 

The  Use  I  would  make  of  it  is  this. 

The  Book,  now  under  the  Consideration  of  the 
Honourable  Bench,  contains  in  it  Arguments  for 
Episcopacy,  all  of  them  laid  down,  from  the 
Beginning  to  the  End,  in  a  Hypothetic  Man- 
ner, thus, — If  Jesus  Christ  instituted  Bishops, 
and  gave  to  them  alone  the  Power  of  sending 
others,  then  those  who  pretend  to  have  Christ's 
Commission  and  have  not  received  it,  either  im- 
mediately from  Christ,  or  immediately  from  these 
7 


30 


Bishops,  cannot  be  the  Ministers  of  Christ  accord- 
ing to  Christ's  Institution. 

And  further,  that  if  any  Person  shall  causelessly 
separate  from  any  sound  Part  of  the  Catholick 
Church,  he  is  a  Schismatic  and  Excommunicate, 
by  voluntarily  cutting  himself  off  from  the  body 
of  Christ. 

Now  if  any  one  shall  make  the  Assumption  and 
say,  these  are  the  Presbyterian  and  the  Congre- 
gational Ministers  &c.  and  their  respective  Con- 
gregations under  them, 

Tet,  (may  it  please  your  Honours)  granting  it  to 
be  so  ;  I  humbly  conceive,  that  the  saying,  con- 
cerning the  Dissenting  Ministers  and  their  Congre- 
gations that  they  are  no  Ministers,  and  that  they  are 
Schismatics  and  Excommunicates  (supposing  that 
these  Speeches  were  absolute  and  not  conditional); 
yet,  I  say,  I  humbly  hope,  that  this  would  not 
be  actionable,  nor  respecting  the  Dissenters,  Mat- 
ter of  a  Libel.  Why? 

Because,  the  Dissenters  of  all  Denominations, 
are  declared  to  be  Schismatics  and  Excommunica- 
tes by  the  Laws  of  the  Land. 

And  in  order  to  make  this  appear  I  beg  Leave  to 
recite  the  4,  5,  6,  7,  9,  10,  11,  and  12th  Canons 
of  the  Church  of  England  published  by  his 
Majesty's  Authority  under  the  Great  Seal  of 
England,  and  now  reprinted  this  very  Year  by 
the  King's  Printer,  by  Order  of  his  Grace  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  *  *  * 

[After  reading  the  Canons. 

May  it  please  your  Honours : 

There  are  no  expressions  in  the  Book  at  Bar, 
tantamount  to  these  Censures  of  the  Dissenters,  in 
the  Canons  just  now  recited. 

And  I  shall  humbly  leave  it  with  your  Honours, 
if  it  may  not  be  worth  your  Consideration, 


31 


whether  the  condemning  this  Bock,  will  not  be  a 
Declaration,  that  the  Church  passed  these  Censures 
against  the  Dissenters  clave  errante  f 

But  be  that  as  it  will,  the  Dissenters  are 
affirmed  to  be  no  Ministers,  to  be  Schismatics,  and 
excommunicate  by  the  Canons  of  the  Church  of 
England,  which  are  part  of  the  Laws  of  the 
Land  ;  and  therefore,  to  say  the  same  things  of 
them,  I  humbly  hope,  shall  not  be  deemed  a 
Libel. 

The  Sentence  of  Court. 
Suffolk,  ss.     At  a  Court  of  ASSISE,  &c. 

Nov.  27,  1724. 
Checkley    } 
adsect'       > 

Dom.  Reg.  )  The  Court  having  maturely  ad- 
vised on  this  special  Verdict,  are  of 
opinion  that  the  Said  JOHN  CHECKLEY  is  guilty  of 
publishing  and  Selling  of  a  false  and  scandalous 
Libel.  IVs  therefore  considered  by  the  Court,  That 
the  said  JOHN  CHECKLEY  shall  pay  afine  of  Fifty 
Pounds  to  the  King,  and  enter  into  Recognizance 
in  the  Sum  of  One  Hundred  Pounds  with  two 
Sureties  in  the  Sum  of  Fifty  Pounds  each,  for 
his  good  Behaviour  for  six  Months,  and  also 
pay  Costs  of  Prosecution,  standing  committed 
until  this  Sentence  be  performed. 

Att'.  Samuel  Tyley,  Clerc. 
FIN18. 


A 
SPECIMEN 

Of  a  TRUE  a*. 

Diffenting    CATECHISM, 

Upon  Right   TRUE-BLUE 

Diffenting    PRINCIPLES 
WITH 

*LEARNED   NOTES, 

By  Way  of  EXPLICATION. 

S>ueftion.     Why  don't  the  Diffenters  in  their 
Publick  Worfhip  make  ufe  of  the  Creeds  ? 

Anfwer.     Why  ? Becaufe  they   are    not 

fet  down  Word  for  Word'vn.  the  Bible. 

S>ueftion.      Well, But    why   don't    the 

Diffenters  in  their  Publick  Worfhip  make  ufe  of 
the  Lord's- Prayer  ? 

Anfwer.     Oh  ! Because  that   is    fet 

down  Word  for  Word  in  the  Bible. 

*  They're  fo  perverfe  and   oppofite 
As  if  they  worfliip'd  God  for  Spite. 


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